Their Love
by Shiichan921
Summary: Ranma has put everything out on the line and told Akane how he feels about her. They become engaged and the wedding is two months away. Many things happen, which may affect their relationship. True love must endure all in order for a happy ending.
1. The Next Day

A.N.: This is my first ever fan fic! I was just inspired to start it, so what can you say? I am actually writing this note after the original posting of this chapter. Right now I'm working on chapter 16. I never planned on making the story lead that way, but hey! Not everything is a piece of pie! I feel like I should have written a lemon for this because I rated it NC-17. now it's at an R rating, but I may push it back up. I was fixing the flash back sequence, and I realized I never wrote an author's note for this first chapter. I just want to say please review my work and tell me your opinion! I value all of the opinions! You can also feel free to email me. I have another work called the right thing. Check it out! It's a fruits basket fic, and I really am having a lot of fun writing it. I might push the rating up on that too. That's an R because of a couple of the relationships. Back to this story! I enjoyed the events that occur before and after their big engagement party. After might be delving into the serious stuff though—there's more drama and maybe some angst. I'm trying to hook everyone up! Well, please read and enjoy. CJD 3

Disclaimer: This story is 100% mine, but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko Takahashi! She's a cool author!!

Their Love

Prologue

This story begins the next day, as the name of the first chapter states. This day is the day after many, many turning points in Ranma and Akane's relationship. The previous evening was when their relationship moved from constant "I hate yous," to constant "I love yous." The two were obviously caught up in the moment, thus, where the chapter begins. No worries! All shall be explained, but I'd rather explain it in the story.

Chapter 1: The Next Day

"Akane...Akane...Wake up Akane...." His voice was soft. He didn't want to startle her. As much as he loved watching his fiancée sleep calmly, he knew that dawn was coming, and they had to get home before anyone noticed they were gone.

"Akane..." he said again until, "Hm...?" She responded, now stirring out of her peaceful sleep.

"Akane, I'm sorry to wake you but dawn is coming. If we don't get home soon, everyone will notice, and then our fathers will interrogate us, and I don't think they should know about _us_ just yet. It's still settling in my mind. I love you so much and I don't want anyone interrupting our relationship just yet. We can wait a week and then tell them."

"But Ranma, do you mean we have to be secretive about our relationship for a whole week?" she said sitting up.

"Not necessarily. We can be ourselves and they can think what they want. I couldn't stand not holding you for a whole week."

"Yes me either. I love you too much to ever let you go."

"Okay, so why don't we go home, get some more sleep, and then we'll act as if we stopped hating each other, which is so true, in fact, I never hated you." He said hugging his fiancée. "I've loved you for a long time."

"I never hated you either, although I didn't know you were the 'man' I was going to marry the moment we met, but I fell in love with you pretty soon after that."

"Too bad all of that terrible stuff had to keep happening to us. Like Shampoo, and Ucchan, and Ryoga, and Mousse, and well, the list goes on."

"Yeah, well we'll let them know soon enough."

"Yes please! The sooner the better. The only girl I want hanging on me is you! You and no one else!" He said, now getting up and searching for his boxers.

"I'm so happy I'll finally have you all to myself!" She said. He found them and while he was at it, he threw Akane her panties.

"Akane, you always had me all to yourself. No doubt about it." He said with a reassuring smile.

"I love you, Ranma Saotome."

"And I love you, Future Mrs. Saotome."

"Oh I can't wait to get the "future" off of that statement!"

"Well, why don't we just take it off now, Mrs. Saotome?"

"Say it again, Mr. Saotome" she demanded with a chuckle.

"Mrs. Ranma Saotome." He said smiling, and collapsing onto the bed again.

"I love hearing that!" she said hugging on to her now half-naked fiancé.

"Alright, now lets go back to the house. Before anyone notices we're not there." He said pressing a small kiss on Akane's lips. He led her to the hallway, and they picked up their clothes. Once both were fully dressed, they exited the small, secret, cottage, and took one last look around the beautiful garden. He had brought her here last night. She didn't exactly know who it belonged to, if it belonged to anyone. However, she didn't really care at the time. The only thing she cared about was Ranma, her fiancé. The man she loved with all her heart. Only a few hours ago he had told her how in love with her he really was. He was the one stepping out onto a limb and putting his heart on the line. He was so brave, but so delicate. He was scared that she didn't feel the same way, but he didn't care. He realized that he was in love with her a couple of months ago, and finally told her last night.

Flashback

She had been having terrible dreams of Ranma, the man she loved, getting hurt. Each night, it was a different dream. One night Ranma would be injured in fight, trying to protect her, or make sure she would be safe from Kuno or doctor Tofu, or any of the men he thought she liked. The next night, Ranma was declaring his love to another girl like Shampoo, or Ukyo. It was so disturbing, she went into the training hall at one am to throw some punches at her aggravation.

Tonight, Ranma had been waiting for this. All week she had been sneaking into the hall for some midnight training. This time he was really worried because she had started falling asleep during the day, and almost got run over on the way home. If he hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened to her.

He figured that her could pester about whatever is brining on this insomnia and he would try with all his might to help her with it. She was in the training hall, punching away in her pajama shorts and matching shirt. He watched her from the doorway, hiding just enough so she couldn't see him. He was watching, and in between punches and kicks, she started talking to herself.

"Stupid dreams! Why does he haunt me day and night! Its bad enough I have to see him all day long, but in my dreams too? This has got to end. I have to tell him soon, or I won't be able to control myself. Dreams will turn into reality and I might embarrass myself. I'm such a fool! Hyah!"

She started punching more and then did a kick, which made her turn around. Someone had caught it. If they had caught her kick, they must've heard what she was saying only seconds before. She turned.

It was the one person she couldn't bear to see. She wanted to tell him how she felt. How she wished that he would declare his love for her, how he protected her from all that was evil, but not get hurt. She ached to tell him that she loved him.

"You're not a fool." He said with a smile. "What are you doing here?!" She said surprised. "Well, I have a few things on my mind that I want to put out in the open." He said, letting her foot go. "Well, what is it?" She asked, trying to keep what she said to a minimum.

"Well, Akane, I know that you are disturbed over something, and I'm worried about you. You are falling asleep during the day, and I want to say that whatever's bothering you, well, I'm here for you. If you would like to tell me about it, I want to help you solve these problems, so you can relax again." He said, becoming more unsettled.

"Ranma, I'm fine. I don't need your help. I can do it." She said reassuringly. "Well, you can try to get rid of me all you want, but I'm not leaving you until you tell me what's bothering you. I want to help you. I want us to not fight all the time. Im tired of fighting. Its not like I try to make you unhappy with me."

"Unhappy? How am I unhappy with you Ranma?" He saw the look in her eyes, which drove him over the edge. "I'm not sure. Akane, I'm sorry but I can't hold it in anymore. There's something that I need to tell you. I realized it a few months ago, and I've tried to be considerate of your feelings, but I can't hold it in anymore! Akane, I love you! And seeing you like this is tearing me apart! I can't stand seeing you worried about something, so I am determined to help you with it." He said.

She was shocked. She couldn't believe this. "Ranma, am I still dreaming? Is this real?" She pinched herself. He stepped closer and took her cheek into his palm. "Yes. It's real. I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way. I just-I couldn't keep it bottled up inside any longer. I love you Akane, and I want you to marry me." He said.

She was paralyzed with emotion. She found her feelings and spoke. "Ranma, I wanted to tell you something too. I love you, and I want to be the only girl you ever hold. I want to be the only girl you ever kiss. I want to be the only girl you ever love. I want to be the only girl you ever marry. I want nothing more than to be the love of your life, and I want to be your wife, Ranma Saotome." His eyes widened.

He couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. He pulled Akane so close to him, pulling her into a passionate kiss. He felt her arms wrap around his, her hands pressing into his back. They stopped to breathe, and Ranma said, "I mean, I know our fathers arranged it when we were born, but forgetting all of that, you are the only one for me. There could never be anyone I could possibly love more than you."

"Ranma, I could never be unhappy with you. If you ever thought differently, I'm setting the record straight. I was worried that I would lose you, and I would never have had the chance to say how much I love you. I don't want to sound too forward, but I think I'm ready to show you." She said, slightly blushing.

"Akane, I love you so much, more than words can express. I want this so badly, I want you, and _only you_ so badly. Can I take you somewhere? I want to show you something."

"Lets go." She said without hesitation. He kissed her again and took her hand. He led her a short ways and stopped in the middle of a huge garden. "This way." He said, pulling his fiancée's hand. She followed him through some trees, and they found themselves in front of a small, secretive cottage.

"Ranma, are you sure we're allowed to be here?" She asked. "It's fine. No one's lived here for ten years." He said. He swept Akane off her feet and carried her into the cottage. "Oh Akane, I love you so much. I've wanted to say these words for so long." He said, kissing her.

"Ranma, you're so brave to have told me this, even when you weren't sure I didn't feel the same way. I'm so happy you did tell me, because I do. I feel the same way. I love you and I never want to keep anything from you, ever again."

"Akane...." he said, putting his fingers through her soft hair and kissing her deeply, "Ranma I can't believe I went without you for so long." "Akane, you will never be without me again."

End of flashback

Ranma then lifted Akane into his arms, gave a peck on the cheek, and started making his way home, jumping on top of rooftops. Akane had never felt so safe and secure in her entire life. She was being held in the arms of the man whom she loved with all her heart. She knew that he loved her back with all of his, and soon, they would be getting married. Not for their fathers, not for the dojo, but because they were in a beautiful, strong, love, which reached until the end of time.

Once they got home, they entered through the door of the training hall, which was still open from when they left. They walked down the hall, until they reached Akane's room.

"C'mere." She said, pulling Ranma into her room by the shirt. She fell forward into his arms just to hold him. The feel of his warm body against hers was so refreshing, and it felt so good. It felt like they were meant for each other, meant to hold each other like this, forever.

"Ranma, after you're done training wake me up, ok? She said into his chest. "Alright, will do, my love. Now you sleep, and I'll wake you up when I'm done."

"Thank you, I hope you can get a little sleep too, before you have to train with your father." She said, worried for him. Ranma looked at the clock on her night table, and said, "Yeah, I'll get about a half hour."

"Okay. Now be careful Kasumi doesn't see you leave my room, she wakes up at this time."

"Okay" Ranma said, and with one final hug and kiss, he left her room, to go to his. Careful not to wake the giant panda, Ranma crept into his futon, and fell asleep right away, only to dream of _his_ beautiful Akane.

After training with his father ended, Ranma jumped upstairs and stealthily slipped into Akane's room, making sure no one was around. He did as he was told and gently rubbed Akane's arm to wake her up. She was so beautiful, lying there, asleep, so peaceful, but she woke and smiled when she met the eyes of her fiancé. "Good morning fiancé." She said. "Good morning, fiancée." Ranma replied, kneeling at her bedside. "Oh Ranma, the reason I asked you to wake me was, well I wanted to know-are you hungry for breakfast?" Not knowing what Akane meant he replied, "Yeah, but Kasumi has it downstairs, its almost ready." "So you are hungry?" "Yes. Very hungry." He answered truthfully. "Alright," Akane said. "So after breakfast, we can take a bath."

"Together?" Ranma said a little shocked. "Yes, I said _we_. Do you mind?" She asked, worried he didn't want to bathe with her. "No, of course not, but aren't you worried about our fathers?"

"No, we'll just bathe. We can save love making for next week. Besides, aren't you exhausted?"

"Ha, no I didn't mean I wanted to make love, I was just making sure it was ok with you-if you were comfortable-we might get-" "I don't care if we're caught. I Just want to be with you. I want to hold you, and I figure a good bath is what we both need. But first-breakfast." Akane said, getting out of bed and beating Ranma out of the room. Ranma hurried out of the room, letting hunger get the better of him.

Breakfast was as good as usual, but there was a lot more eye contact than usual between Ranma and Akane. All of a sudden they both stopped looking at each other, and turned their attention to Soun Tendo, who was sobbing. The tears were pouring down his face as they did every once and a while. Akane and Ranma were now petrified. Had Soun figured it out? How could he know in such a short while? It had only been a few hours! What was up with him?

"Um- D-daddy? What's wrong?" Akane said, a trembling hand clutched in Ranma's underneath the table.

"I'm just so happy!! I think there's been a breakthrough!! You two haven't fought once this morning! Not once! Oh I believe it won't be long that our schools will be united!" Soun said sobbing. Then Panda-Genma, tears also streaming down his face, held up a sign which read "Go Get 'em you dogs!" Akane wanted to act like her usual self, so she let go of Ranma's hand and stood up. "Thank you very much for that assessment Daddy. I'll be in my room devising plans to incriminate Ranma here, the next time he so much as looks at me the wrong way!" She stormed out of the dining room and upstairs. Ranma got the idea and played along. "Yeah how can you guys be so dumb?! I could never ever like that uncute tomboy." The words were harsh, but they did the trick and Soun and Genma's hopeful looks disappeared at once. He then got up and stormed upstairs also. "I'll be in the bath, so don't bother me! I need to relax over all the trouble _she_ gives me!" It was a perfect cover. Akane was "in her room," and Ranma claimed the bath, so they would have no disturbances. Ranma entered the bathroom and slammed it to give everyone downstairs the impression he was mad. Akane was already in the bathroom waiting. She had the water pouring into the tub.

"So was all that true? About me, that is?" She asked sarcastically. "Yes," he replied. "Its true. I can never _like_ such an uncute tomboy. I already _love_ you." He said and hugged on to her.

"I'm so happy you thought to keep it a secret, for at least a little while." Akane said. "I'm glad we're not being pressed for details, and –my father-poor daddy. He's wanted this for so long but he'll be sad to lose his youngest daughter." Akane sighed.

"Hey, he still has two more! Besides it's what he wants, so we're making him happy and we're making my father happy too. More importantly, we are making each other happy. I don't think I'll ever be sad, knowing that you are in my heart." Ranma said, smiling and hugging Akane. "So what about that bath, Ranma?"

"Do I smell that bad?" Ranma said with a chuckle. "No, no silly." She said, and pulled Ranma close to her, moving her hands to his waist. She then pulled his shirt over his head, and moved her hands towards Ranma's pants. She had dreamt of doing this for so long, but never believed she would actually do it. Once Ranma was in his boxers, he started unbuttoning Akane's pajama top. He slid it off of her shoulders, kissing the skin where the fabric had once been. Akane then slid her fingers into the waistband of Ranma's boxers and pushed. Once he was fully undressed, he returned the favor.

"Akane?" "Yes Ranma?" she asked worried she was doing something wrong. "I can't get over how beautiful you are. You are the most perfect _angel_ I have ever seen." He said, looking into her beautiful eyes. "I can't even imagine how lucky I am to have such an amazing girl-woman in my life." "And I can't believe I have you, Ranma. You are so wonderful, and words don't even express how much I love you."

She placed a gentle kiss on Ranma's lips and led him over to step into the almost full tub. He stepped in and sat, his back against the far end of the tub, across from the spout. Akane then stepped in and sat in between his legs, and moved so her chest was resting on his stomach and her head lay listening to his heart. Once the tub was full, she turned off the faucet and just lay on her fiancé. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed. It was a peaceful sigh that told Akane, without words, that he was calm and happy.

"Ranma?" "Yes?" "Did I ever thank you?" She asked moving her head a little to look into her fiancé's deep eyes. "Thank me? What for?" he asked looking back into her eyes.

"Did I ever thank you for caring about me so much?" "What do you mean? How so?"

"Well, if you didn't care about me, then you never would have asked me what was wrong last night. And if you didn't tell me that you loved me, then, I guess we would still be pretending to hate each other."

"no Akane, don't you realize? I've loved you for a long time. I was going to tell you one way or another. Last night, I just, took my opportunity. You are part of me. You hold my heart and soul. And whatever was going on in your head really seemed to be taking a toll on you. If I wasn't there when you walked out in front of that truck, then –I don't even want to think about it. I wanted to tell you so you would understand why I wanted to help you. I was fed up with you not even looking at me for a week, like you were ashamed of me. It was torture to see you in such pain."

"I wasn't ashamed of you, I could never be ashamed of you. I was ashamed of myself, for thinking things and making stupid assumptions."

"Don't be ashamed of yourself. You were right in worrying if you loved me."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I was worried that someone would take you away fro me, and I would never have the chance to tell you that I love you." She said. "And now, I'm so happy that you love me too. Last night was the best night of my life."

"Yeah, I'm still so shocked that you would love someone as foolish and childish as me." He said, kissing the top of her head.

"I think you mean someone as brave and heroic as you. But at times, you can be foolish and childish, but only sometimes, and with just cause." She smiled.

Ranma picked up some soap and put some into his hands. He gently started smoothing it over her skin. It was like silk on silk. Ranma absolutely loved the feel of her soft skin under his hands. He rubbed her back and then her shoulders and then her arms and hands, occasionally going back for more soap. He then repositioned her so he could wash her front. He moved his hands softly around her stomach and then her chest, and her neck. He wet her hair and then put some shampoo on her head, starting to massage it. She was in absolute ecstasy and wished this could last forever. Ranma couldn't believe how nice this was. He had wanted to touch her like this for such a long time. Now that he was actually doing it, he never wanted to stop. Eventually, every single inch of her soft skin had been massaged, and it was now Akane's turn. She picked up the soap and started rubbing his muscular chest. It felt so nice against her small, soft hands. She massaged his neck, down to his abs, and moved behind him, so she could massage the tense muscles in his back. It was absolute heaven to both. Each loved he touch of the other's skin. "Akane?" he said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, Ranma?" She asked back, still massaging his back. "How are we going to tell them? What are we going to tell them? When are we going to tell them?" He asked.

"Hm... I guess we better figure that out, shouldn't we?" She said, stopping the massage, and wrapping her arms around his torso and leaning her cheek on his soapy shoulder. "Well, what do you think we should do?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking that the more we wait, the more details they'll want to know, and the angrier they'll be." "Yeah, that's true. Maybe waiting a week isn't a good idea. Plus, we can't keep acting like we hate each other all the time." She said with a sigh. "I mean, it was hard enough at breakfast. I love you too much to say things like that ever again." "Hey here's an idea! Why don't we tell them tomorrow night, so we can have the rest of the day and most of tomorrow in peace? We can tell every one tomorrow night at dinner, and that will be that!"

"Yeah that is a good idea," Akane said, putting the shampoo in her hands, and started rubbing it into Ranma's hair. "Yeah, it is a good idea. We can I guess be ourselves at school, to let everyone know, I guess and then we can surprise them at dinner tomorrow night." "That way, our father's won't be too mad. They'll be crying no matter what though. Oh that tickles!" he said to Akane, who was rubbing his ears. "hehe, looks like I've found your weak spot." She said giggling. "Oh, I have many weak spots." He said turning around and grabbing Akane, bringing her in front of him again. "Now I have to find one of your weak spots! Hehehe lookout!" he said almost pouncing on her, tickling her all over. She was laughing and when Ranma stopped to let her breathe, she pulled him down for a kiss. Her hands roamed all over his body. Moving along his soapy back and through his hair. They stopped kissing to catch their breath and simultaneously said, "Wait." They both felt relieved, being that they both didn't want to do anything too compromising, while four other people were in the house, four _relatives_. They both smiled and understood. "Not now." They said together. Ranma, placing a soft kiss on her lips said, "Why don't we wash off all of this soap, eh?" "Good idea." Was Akane's response. Ranma placed a soft kiss on Akane's lips and slowly stood, bringing Akane with him. She pulled the plug on the bath, and Ranma started the shower. The water was warm, which was good. Ranma wanted to stay a man for Akane forever. He wanted to rid himself of the curse now more than ever.

"Akane, c'mere." Ranma said pulling Akane into a tight embrace. They stood, holding eachother tight and swaying back and forth gently. Ranma rinsed the shampoo out of Akane's hair, and she did the same. They stood under the warm water until they were soap free, and then got out of the shower. Akane took a towel to Ranma's hair, worrying that it would get cold. Ranma followed suit and started drying off his fiancée. "This is bliss Akane." Ranma whispered into her ear. "Yeah. Thank you." "Tell me we can do this tomorrow." Ranma asked with a hopeful look. "Early, before school. I want to start my day off right." She said. "Yes ma'am." Ranma said with a sly smile. A look of realization on her face, "Oh darn. I didn't bring any clothes with me. And I don't want anyone thinking I was with you." "Well then, I'll be back in a jiffy, babe." He said, wrapping a towel around his waist.

He exited the bathroom and hurried down the hallway to his room. He threw on some boxers and a pair of pants. Grabbing a shirt, he ran out and hurried into Akane's room. He grabbed a pair of panties, which he thought were cute, a bra, and the sundress he really liked on her. He ran out again and back into the bathroom. "Here you go, catch." He tossed her the clothes. "Thanks." She said with a smile. He put his shirt on and Akane got dressed. She finished and saw Ramna messing with his hair. "Oh, here, can I do that?" "Yeah, thanks." He said and Akane picked a brush up out of the basket on the counter. She ran it through his hair, careful not to mess up his braid.

"Akane, would you like to go out for lunch?" Ranma asked, being that it was almost time for lunch. "Sure. I'd love to. Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere we won't run into Shampoo, Ucchan, Kuno, Ryoga, or Kodachi." Ranma said with all seriousness. "Ok, then we can walk through town and see if there's anything good." "Ok, and then when we get back we can spend the rest of our after noon doing homework. I hate to say it, but we do have school tomorrow and there is homework. Of course you missed the lessons because you were sleeping, but I can help you." "I seriously forgot we're still in school. Wow, you just totally made reality a blur. I guess I was having such a good time, I forgot the world spins and we're part of it. When I'm with you it feels like time stops." "Yeah, I just realized that too. I don't want you missing homework because of me now." "No, and I don't want that to happen to you either." "Ok, now its lunch time! I'll leave first, and then you can leave after me." He said. "And don't worry, we'll never have to sneak around after tomorrow." "That sounds good. See you in a few minutes."

Ranma went down stairs and announced to the room that he was going out to lunch, and that he would be back later. He left the house and headed down the path towards town. Akane waited a minute and went down stairs. "I'm going into town, I might stop off for lunch." "Oh, Akane, what a coincidence, Ranma just left for town as well. Maybe you could catch up and have lunch together?" Nabiki asked with a hopeful look. "I'll pass, thanks. See ya later!" Akane said and left the house. She started heading down the path, and was startled when Ranma pounced on her from behind a bush. "Haha, there you are. Shall we go then?" "Yeah, lets go!"

They walked hand in hand all the way to town, and down the street lined with restaurants. Akane spotted a nice soup restaurant and suggested it to Ranma. He agreed, and the two went in and claimed a nice little table. While they were waiting for their soup, Ranma took Akane's hand and said, "Akane I was wondering, should we have an engagement party?" Her eyes widened. "Really?! You think we should?" "Well, yeah! We should celebrate our love right? Besides it's a perfect way to tell everyone about our love! This way there won't be any more interruptions by anyone. There will only be us and arrangements for a-June-wedding?" "June? Haha im not sure if its too soon, or not soon enough!" "Well, I figure, we'll need a couple of months for getting everything together. How about we announce that at our party? Hm... why don't we have the engagement party this Saturday? And then we can have wedding the two months from then- by then, school will be out and everything will be perfect!"

"What a great idea!" Akane exclaimed. We can hold the party at our house and invite everyone! This is going to be so much fun! Oh, but there's one problem. What are we going to wear?"

"Well, since we are in town, why don't we buy something to wear?" he asked. "Should we wear matching colors?" Akane added as an after thought. "Well, why don't we find an absolutely stunning dress for you, and then we can find something for me afterwards."

They continued the discussion during lunch, sharing ideas on the wedding and the upcoming party. After they left the restaurant, they walked down to a small boutique, which sold dresses for dinner parties and similar events. An hour later they walked out carrying and shopping bag, and headed for a store where they could find something for Ranma that would match Akane's dress. A half hour later, they left with another shopping bag, and headed home.


	2. Dinner

A.N.: Hello faithful readers!! I'm really sorry I didn't write a note for my first chapter! I think I was caught up in the moment of posting my very first fan fic! I also forgot the disclaimer...OOPS!! It's so exciting! Well, I'm really excited!! I've already written like ten chapters, and I was really eager to post! Sorry about the flashback-it was really long and I didn't make paragraphs-yes I hate that, so I'm sorry. I hope you like the story so far! I plan on making it way better and I gave it the rating because of future "happenings." Enjoy! Please- I looked for typos, but I am a little blind. If there's anything wrong, tell me! Happy reading!!

Disclaimer: Sorry!! I totally forgot about the disclaimer!! OMG!! I hope I'm not sued! Well I'm sorry to say—they aren't mine!! But they are so cool I put them in a little story! Yep—all the cool characters belong to Rumiko....

Chapter 2: Ryoga

It was still in the early afternoon when Ranma and Akane walked into the house together. Their giggling at something Ranma said caught the attention of Nabiki and Kasumi, who were baking treats in the kitchen.

"What has you two in such a good mood may I ask?" Nabiki said with an interrogating look. Akane and Ranma snapped out of "lovey-dovey" mode and quickly said "Nothing-nothing at all."

"And what's in the bags?" Kasumi asked leaning over the counter and looking at the couple quizzically. "Nothing! Stop butting into my business!" Akane snapped at the two. "Oh and does your business involve what Ranma's holding also?" Nabiki added. "Maybe I made Ranma carry the heavy bag huh? He's got muscles to spare! So what if I put him to work!" She said, now fuming.

"So you two _did_ meet up in town huh? Akane its wrong of you to take advantage of Ranma like that! You should know-" "Maybe I offered to help!" Ranma said, finally including himself in the argument. "Oh, I see." Nabiki said, realization dawning on her face. "So you two are-" "No we're not! Don't go assuming things when you don't know any details!" Akane burst out. "Well then spill!" Nabiki yelled, anger and jealousy now becoming more apparent. "I'm sorry, but we have homework to do. We'll be upstairs. Bye-bye now!" Ranma said, saving Akane from any more verbal abuse from her sisters. He took hold of her shoulders, making Nabiki raise an eyebrow, and steered her up the stairs. Once they were all the way up and out of view of the other Tendo girls, he put his arm around his fiancée's shoulder.

"Calm down. It's ok. We're not gunna say anything until tomorrow night."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for backing me up down there. My sisters can be very pushy when they want to know something." "Yeah, but now they probably won't give us any treats!" He said, pouting. "Oh, so you care about treats more than you care about me? Ha ha, well we'll have to do something about that!" Ranma placed a kiss on Akane's mouth and said, "I think I like you more than treats-you're sweeter, and tastier, and better, and so delicious!" he made a funny face and Akane giggled and blushed. Ranma loved making her blush. It just lit up her face, and made her even more beautiful than she already was. He kissed her forehead, and they went to do their homework in Akane's room. Ranma and Akane sat across from each other at the table. They both started doing their homework, when Akane's door opened. Akane and Ranma both looked up to see who was there, no one was standing in the doorway. They jumped in shock when they heard a loud "SKWEEEE!!"

"P-Chan?" Ranma and Akane said at the same time. P-Chan saw Ranma and ran from the door, leapt up, and smashing down on top of Ranma's head, and jumped into Akane's lap. "Oww! You stupid pig-that hurt!" "Oh Ranma-he's just a pig! He doesn't know any better, he's sorry. P-Chan, why don't you apologize. Ranma didn't do anything to deserve that." She held out P-Chan to Ranma and Ranma tapped it on the head, rather roughly, with a sly smile, eyeing the pig suspiciously. "Akane, why don't you tell Ry-um-P-Chan to stick around until Saturday for the party?" The small pig jumped at this.

"Yeah!" Akane said bringing him back into her arms. "P-Chan, I would love for you to come to our party on Saturday night! No one knows about it yet though. We're going to tell them all tomorrow. I can't even tell you because it's a surprise! _I'm_ so excited!" Akane said smiling. "Yeah P-Chan, you hear that? Akane wants you to come to her party Saturday night, so don't get lost! This means a lot to her, don't you let her down." Ranma said, seriously. "Hey P-Chan, why don't you go downstairs, my sisters are baking some treats, you can pig out." Akane said putting P-Chan down on the table.

He looked sad that he was leaving Akane, but with Ranma right there, he didn't want to try anything to upset him. So he was content to receive an invite to Akane's _surprise_ party, and left to go bother Nabiki and Kasumi for some Treats. He had gotten lost on a midnight stroll the night before Akane started having the dreams, and just found his way back home, feeling exhausted, and wanted to see Akane's beautiful face before going to find some food.

"Ok, so can you help me with these problems, Ranma? I really have no clue what I'm doing." Akane said, looking back at her work. Ranma obliged and got up. He walked up and sat behind her so she was sitting in between his legs. He pressed his chest against her back, giving her the implication that he wanted her to lean on him. She did, as he wrapped his left arm around her waist, and said "There! Now I'm comfortable." He kissed her temple, which was the closest part of her to his lips, and started explaining the math. Ranma had always been smart, and he loved Akane's reliance on him at the moment. They stayed this way, doing their homework for a while until Kasumi called up the stairs for them to come down for dinner.

"Have we really been here that long?" Ranma asked stretching and getting up, so Akane could also. "I guess so." She said, also stretching. "I wonder if P-Chan is still here." "Well we asked him not to get lost so he could come on Saturday." "Yeah I hope he comes. He's such a good pet." "Hm...yeah I wonder if we have any guests for dinner." Ranma said as they made their way down stairs. "Oh, you guys, look who paid a visit! Its Ryoga!" Kasumi said. Ranma And a shocked Akane greeted him. "Ryoga how are you? It's been a while!" Akane said, hugging Ryoga. "Yeah, how long has it been Ryoga? Like two hours?" Ranma mumbled, putting on a fake smile. Their hands started turning red from the other trying to crush it. "It's really nice to see you too, Ranma!" Ryoga said putting on another fake smile so Akane could see him and Ranma were getting along. Ryoga never wanted to make Akane unhappy, so even around his nemesis, he always wore a smile, whether fake or real. Everyone sat in silence eating dinner until Nabiki said, "So Akane, What did you and Ranma buy while you two were in town, _together_, today?" This was Akane's punishment for not telling her earlier. Since Nabiki didn't get what she wanted when she wanted it, she tried to get it now, in front of everyone.

"Nabiki, I thought I told you it was none of your business!" Akane said, her tone getting a little sharper. "I mean, you said you made Ranma carry the heavy package, so _what_ was so heavy Akane?" she pressed again. "Akane, you and Ranma were in town _together_? I knew today was a happy day! Our schools will soon be unit-" "Dad! Stop crying! You look like a fool in front of our guest!" Akane interrupted. Ranma noticed that pretty soon, Akane was going to have to be rescued from this interrogation before anything slipped.

"Alright I'll tell you what it was!" Ranma cut in. "I mean I was walking home after eating my lunch, _by myself_, and she snuck up on me and dumped that package in my hands! It was just some more girlie clothes to make her look less-uncute!" Everyone was surprised that Ranma cut in, but Nabiki still wasn't satisfied. She was about to add more when Ryoga took over.

"My god Ranma! How much of a child can you be?! When will you ever stop calling her "uncute" and realize how beautiful she is!" Everyone was dumbfounded at this except for Ranma who jumped up and said, "Do you wanna take this outside?" Ryoga jumped up as well and said "Sure, why not! Let's go!" "Wait! Now who's acting childish?! You two should be ashamed! I don't want any fighting from either of you, or else you'll have to pay the consequences!" Akane said in a stern tone.

Ryoga realized he did what he was trying so hard no to do. He made Akane upset. He apologized, and sat down. Ranma did the same, and continued to eat. He didn't intend on really fighting Ryoga, but thought threatening to fight would go nice with the argument. Both Ranma and Akane were happy after this, because Nabiki lost her nerve and didn't ask any more questions.

When dinner was being cleaned up, Ryoga said his good-byes and left through the back door. Akane was worried that she didn't invite him to the party. "Ranma, the party. Can you catch Ryoga and tell him?" She whispered. Ranma smiled and said "Don't worry about it Akane-he'll be there. Why don't you work some more on the homework and I'll be up shortly? I just want to get a breath of fresh air." Akane nodded at this and went upstairs. Ranma stepped out onto the back porch and shut the door behind him. He walked out and sat on the edge of the fountain.

"So what's this party about?" Ryoga asked, hopping down from the roof.

"Why don't you just go, and stop asking stupid questions." Ranma said. "I want to go but I might get lost. There's a lot of time between now and Saturday to get lost!" Ryoga said a bit annoyed. "Its _Akane's_ party? Like a birthday party?" he asked, still trying to find out what it was about. "Just shut up about the party ok? No one else knows about it. You're the only one who knows so far." "Then how the hell do you know if its _her_ party?!" Ryoga said. "Just drop it Ryoga! God! If you're worried about getting lost, then just listen to what the woman says and stay put! And no more of that crap where you sleep in her room, or else I'll take you out myself and lock you in a cage." "Fine, I'll stay, but –wait. Woman? Woman! Since when do you-OH MY GOD! RANMA YOU SICK BASTARD!! I'LL KILL YOU!!" Ryoga lunged at Ranma, but Ranma moved and Ryoga fell into the fountain. "SKWEEEEE!!!!" "Ryoga, stop acting like such an ass! The truth is probably not as bad as you think it is!" Ranma said picking Ryoga up out of the fountain. Ryoga splashed some water on Ranma, causing him to become Ranma-Chan. "Listen, we're together."

Ryoga tried to scratch and bite, but couldn't so he gave up and started wallowing in self-pity. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I know you had feelings for her and I'm sorry about that. You were right. The party is _our_ party. Our_ engagement _ party. She wanted you there as her friend, Ryoga. You are the first person who knows, so you can't tell anyone. We're going to tell everyone tomorrow night at dinner. Lets get you in some hot water." Ranma stuck her hand in the fountain's cold water and fished out Ryoga's clothes. Ranma-Chan started walking inside, holding P-chan in one arm and Ryoga's clothing in the other. "Man I can't wait until we break the curse!" Ran-Chan said, and got an oink of agreement from the little black pig in her hand.

Ran-Chan turned the shower on, stepped under the water and put Ryoga down next to her. When the water finally got hot, Ranma and Ryoga turned back to their natural forms. They both stepped out and grabbed towels to dry off.

Ryoga and Ranma went to Ranma's room for dry clothes. While both were dressing, Ryoga said "Snice when, Ranma...?" Ranma looked up and saw the hurt in Ryoga's eyes. "Since when... what?" "Since when have you been in love with Akane?" Ryoga said with the pain in his eyes becoming more apparent. "Since a few months ago. I realized that I had feelings for her, feelings in my heart. I found out that those feelings meant I loved her. I worried about her, and it was painful to say those mean things to her. I realized that I wanted to be the one she relied on, the one she loved in return." Ranma said very seriously. "And since when has she loved you?" Ryoga asked, his pain making it hard to speak. "Since about the same time-a couple of months ago." Ranma said. "Then why were you two fighting all the time-leading me to believe that you hated each other?" "Because we were scared alright? We were sacred of letting our feelings out, scared that the other didn't feel the same way!" "So what changed Ranma? What happened to make you-dammit!" Ryoga couldn't even finish his question. This had been painful for him to begin with. He hated the idea of Akane with Ranma. He put his head in his hands, attempting to make the world stop spinning.

"Well, it started the night after you got lost. Akane started having really weird dreams that kept her awake for most of the night. It got so bad, yesterday she almost got run over by a truck! I was so scared, so I confronted her about it when she woke up at one again. She really didn't want to say anything because she was afraid, and I saw the look in her eyes, and I couldn't hold back my feelings anymore. Everything just got sort of blurted out and we were swept away in tornado of feelings-good feelings-happy feelings-feelings like we'd never have to worry about anything again." Ranma's eyes were now a little glossy and Ryoga's eyes were filled with tears. "Congratulations, Ranma, you win. You won her heart, and everything. Don't worry, I'll come to your party, but I better clear out for a few days and think about everything. Thanks for respecting me enough to tell me first." He said offering his hand to Ranma to shake. Ranma shook it and said "You know, you're a good friend to Akane, whether you're P-Chan or not. And, even though we're enemies, I've considered you a friend, when we're not fighting. Thank you for looking out for her while I couldn't. Ryoga, Will you be my best man?" Ryoga was shocked. "You're kidding" seemed to be the appropriate answer, but "Yeah, ok." was the only thing he could say. "You know, maybe I'll stick around and give you some support with the party arrangements. And who knows? You may need more help covering up this little 'unity' before tomorrow night." "Thanks man." Ranma said with a smile.

"Perhaps, I should give her my congratulations. Is she still doing homework?" "Yeah I think so. Lets go." Ryoga nodded and followed Ranma to Akane's room. Ranma gave a small knock, but there was no answer, so he opened the door a little. "Ha, Akane..." Ranma walked in and Ryoga peeked his head in. Akane had fallen asleep at the table. She looked so peaceful. Ranma went over to her and picked her up. He carried her over to her bed, and placed her under the covers. Making sure she was comfortable, Ranma placed a light kiss on her forehead and whispered something sweet into her ear. He straightened back up and walked back over to where Ryoga was leaning in the doorframe. "Hey, you wouldn't mind watching over her while she sleeps would you? I mean, I don't want to be found missing from my bed before anyone else knows about us. I trust you, and I guess it'll be sort of your last night protecting her from harm." He said. "You know Ranma, all this time when I would watch over her, I was trying to protect her from you, but I guess I failed didn't I?" Ryoga said. "But, I guess it was inevitable, right?" "Yeah, I guess it was inevitable. One way or another..." "Yeah, she felt the same for you."

A moment later, P-Chan reentered Akane's room, and Ranma leaned the bedroom door on, incase Ryoga had to leave for something. Ranma left for his bedroom, and Ryoga hopped up on Akane's fluffy bed. He wondered what Ranma had whispered to Akane after he covered her up. P-Chan shrugged, and placed a little kiss on Akane's cheek. He then curled up on the pillow next to her. Before he fell asleep, he heard Akane whisper a gentle "I love you too, Ranma." And was very happy that, even though it wasn't him, Akane was in love with a man who loved her back with all his heart.


	3. Ukyo

A.N.: Hey noble readers! Thanks for staying with the story so far! This chapter is a little short, and I'm sorry about that, but it will get better, and the chapters will get better! You have my word! There may be a little one every now and then, but in general-you get the point. Hehe and it's like "When will Shampoo find out?!" yeah yeah –it'll get to that! And I even put in a little Neko-Ranma too! Yay! Oh yeah—I hope the lots of smoochies and "I love yous" isn't getting to you. hehe now go read! And don't forget to review!! Thanks to those who have reviewed!! All reviews are cherished! Thank you!! now read...

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me!! They belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 3: Ukyo

The next morning was just like Ranma and Akane wanted it. They both got up extra early and bathed together. After that, they dressed and woke P-Chan up so he could join them for breakfast. Funnily enough, P-Chan "got lost," and Ryoga popped his head in to enjoy Kasumi's blueberry pancakes. Ranma and Akane left the house at the regular time for school. Once they were out of viewing distance from the house, Ranma wrapped his arms around Akane and said, "I can't wait until tonight!" Akane agreed, and said "Yeah! And Ryoga's here too! That's so great." "Akane, I sort of already told Ryoga." "What? He knows? Is that ok? I mean he'll be in the house all day with my sisters-especially Nabiki." She said worried. "Its alright. I told him because he's our friend and I asked him to be my best man." He said. "You did? So you guys aren't going to fight anymore?" she asked with a hopeful look. "Well, I don't know about that, but we won't fight over anything unless it's really worth fighting over." He said. "He wanted to congratulate you after I told him. But when we got to your room, you had fallen asleep." Ranma said. "Well, he can do that when we get home from school. So he's going to help us with the party preparations?" She asked. "Of course! I told him that it would mean a lot to you if he stayed for the party. At first he was going to go off somewhere and get lost probably, but then I asked him to stay and asked him to be my best man. And he cheered up and said he would." "Cheered up? He was sad?" "Well Akane, he's always had a place in his heart for you. And he never really trusted me, especially with you!" he said "But now he understands that we are so in love and couldn't ever hurt each other, so he's agreed to help us out if your sisters start inquiring." "Oh, that's really nice of him." Akane said.

The two walked and talked on their way to school, holding hands and smiling. All of the boys prepared to attack Akane as they did every day, with hopes of getting a date with her. As soon as Akane arrived holding Ranma's hand, all of the boys backed off except for one.

"Akane Tendo! I ask you for a duel, so that if I defeat you, I may ask you out on a date!"

"Not today Kuno!" Ranma and Akane said at the same time. They were both pretty pissed that such an idiot interrupted their lovely morning together. Akane kept her tight grip on Ranma's hand and walked up to Kuno. "As a matter of fact Kuno, you may never ask me for a fight ever again. Do you understand?" Dumbfounded Kuno stood there as the rest of the school looked on. "No Akane, please explain." Kuno said. "_I'll_ explain it for ya, Kuno. She doesn't want you. She doesn't want to go on dates with any of you guys! She never did!" Ranma said, making it clear for all of the boys to hear. "Besides," Akane cut in. "why would I want any of you as my boyfriend when I already have a fiancé! I've had one for a while." She was fed up with this stupid morning routine of getting to school and fighting off a hundred boys who wanted to ask her on a date. "C'mon Ranma, we're going to be late." She turned in the direction of the school, put her arm around Ranma's waist and started pulling him towards the school. They had only taken a few steps when they were stopped by a mini Okonomiyaki spatula which hit the ground before their feet. "Hold it you two!" A voice said. "Ukyo?" Both Ranma and Akane said. "Ranma, honey, why on earth are you letting this little girl do this to you?!" She said with an appalled look on her face. "Why? Why I'm letting _my fiancée_ do this to me is because she can!" He shouted so Ukyo could hear loud and clear. "Besides, I want her to, and I like it." Ukyo, as well as the rest of the school heard Ranma's statement.

"Is it true Ranma? Do you really choose _her_? You choose her over me? She can't even cook! And she's not cute! WHY? Tell me!" Ukyo was clearly very upset.

"Yes, Ukyo. I choose Akane. There was _only_ Akane in the first place! It doesn't even matter if she can't cook! And you are wrong! Akane is the most beautiful woman on this entire planet, and I love her. I am _in love_ with her!" Ranma said. He looked into Akane's eyes and saw they were full of tears and she was blushing. She hugged onto Ranma's arm and he could feel her tears on his arm. Ukyo sat down. Tears were now erupting from her eyes, but she didn't make a sound, nor could she hear the other students whispering. Ranma pulled Akane over to where Ukyo sat. He offered her his free hand and said "C'mon Ucchan, lets go inside. We'll talk more and you can get cleaned up." She nodded and took his hand. He had to support her weight on their way inside.

All of the students who were watching stood open mouthed at what Ranma said. It all came together at that point. That was why they were holding hands. That's why she told Kuno to back off, and that was why they were holding onto each other when they were talking to Ukyo. The boys were still a little bummed about never being able to get a date with Akane because she was officially taken, but there are other girls in the world, like the newly on the market Ukyo, so they all went in to the school. Class was about to begin.

Ukyo spent most of the morning in the nurse's office and didn't come out until lunch. Ranma and Akane were sitting across from each other, discussing many things. Ukyo entered the lunchroom and walked up to where Ranma and Akane were sitting. Ranma saw her coming and was worried that she might start something that would endanger Akane. He was worried but figured anything from Ucchan he could handle. She walked up to the table and said "Ranma, Akane, I would just like to say I'm sorry. The way I acted this morning was immature, especially to you Akane. I'm very sorry. Please Accept my apology." She said bowing. It was as if she was surrendering to Akane. Tears started to fall from her face, which was facing downwards. Akane stood and gave a comforting hug to Ukyo. Ukyo began to sob, catching the attention of the occupants of the cafeteria. "Ukyo, this is very sudden, but we are having a party on Saturday night, in celebration of our engagement." Ranma said. "It would honor us if you would come, Ukyo." Akane said, still hugging her. Ukyo looked up, drying her eyes. "Really? You want me to come to your party? You're not mad at me? You don't think I'll try to crash it?" She said worried of what the answer might be. "Yes Ukyo, we trust you. It would honor us if you would come." Ranma smiled. "Even if, at some point you were my fiancée, you were my friend first. And you are my friend now. Please come." "Okay, I'll be there." Ukyo said, feeling a little better. Even if she lost her chances of marrying Ranma, she knew that they would always be friends, and that was a comforting thought.

"Ahem!" A few of the other students said. They were all looking at Ranma and Akane. "Where are _our_ invites?" Some of the students said. "We're your friends right? Don't we get to come to this party?" Ranma and Akane blushed. "I guess the more, the merrier!" Ranma said with a shrug. All of the other students whooped and the rest of the school day was filled with cheers and pats on the backs and congratulations for the happy couple. A few of the perverts asked the impolite questions, but paid for it when they went crashing out of windows. "Can't they learn?" Ranma said after throwing the fifth pervert out of the nearest window. It was the last period of the day and by now, the word "party" had spread across school. "Aww man! I know I shouldn't have invited them!" Ranma said. "It's going to get way too merry! I know they will be bouncing off the walls." "Its ok, if things get too bad, you and Ryoga can start throwing them out of the house." Akane said. "Yeah I guess it'll be alright. I mean, the only thing I'm going to care about on Saturday night is you!" Ranma said kissing Akane's cheek from his desk. The bell rang initiating the start of class. "Hey, hey none of that now you two!" the teacher said, spotting the little kiss they shared. "So I guess it is true then?" The math teacher said. Ranma and Akane blushed and nodded. It was bad enough they were being asked nonstop by the student body, but now the teachers? What was next? Fearing the possibility of the entire town finding out about it before they even told their fathers, Ranma stood up and said to the class "Thank you for your support, everyone, but we want this to be a surprise for our families. Its bad enough you guys found out before you were supposed to, but we don't want our families to know until tonight." The students nodded and decided that they could spread the glorious news tomorrow. The teacher nodded, a little annoyed at being interrupted, but went back to teaching and only wished she had a fiancé too.

As soon as school was out, Ranma and Akane asked people to be hush-hush about the engagement until tomorrow. All of their friends asked what they could bring to the party and agreed to stay quiet for one night. Eventually, after a half hour of chasing people down, they started walking home. Ranma wrapped his arm around Akane, and she leaned an exhausted head against his chest.

"I don't even want to think about what kind of 'celebration' there's going to be tomorrow. But, I'm really glad that everyone is supporting us. Its almost like they were rooting for us ever since they found out we were betrothed." "They probably were." Ranma said. "I just hope nobody else finds out before dinner." Akane added. She put her arms around his waist and he kept his arm on the same spot around her shoulder. "Can I call you Ran?" Akane asked, out of the blue. "What? Ran? Haha, ok." Ranma said laughing. "What brought this on Akane?" he asked. She smiled "Oh, I don't know, I mean perhaps it would be nice for you to hear something different for once, rather than Ranma. I'll be the only one who says it so you'll know its me calling you, I guess." "You or my mother." He said. "She was the only other person who called me that. I like that." "I never hear you talk of your mother. Where is she?" Akane asked. "She's back home. I guess she's still in the same house we used to live in. I haven't seen her in so many years. I can hardly remember her. All I remember of her is that she used to hug me a lot, and she loved me so much. All she did was love, and I'm sure she misses me terribly." "Is it because you miss her terribly?" "Well, I miss not seeing her everyday, but I'll see her again, of course." Ranma smiled, and Akane's heart ached because she never wanted her Ran to feel pain. "You know, you remind me a little of her. Ranma said. I think that's part of the reason I fell in love with you. You have a sort of essence that my mother always had. And the way you do certain things, it reminds me of her. It reminds me of being home. I guess, in a way when I'm with you, I _am_ home. I am where I want to be for the rest of my life. I am with you." He said. Akane blushed a little, but was so happy hearing Ranma say these things. She didn't know if she was ready to be a wife yet, but if she was with Ranma, she could do anything. "I can't wait to be your wife, Ranma." She said. "I can't wait to be your husband, Akane." Ranma said back.

They walked for a little while more, and Ranma suddenly got a great idea. "Hey, Akane, next week is vacation, right?" Ranma asked. "Yeah, we don't have school all week, its spring break. Why?" Akane asked. "Well, I was thinking, would you like to take a trip with me?" Ranma said. "Where to?" Akane asked, but she really didn't care. Anywhere with Ranma was paradise. "Up to the mountains. It'll take a couple of days to get there. Do you want to come with me?" He asked. He knew where he was going to go, but it was going to be a surprise for Akane. She could try to coax it out of him, but he wasn't going to say where he was going to take her on this trip. "Yeah, of course I'd like to go. When will we go?" Akane asked. "How about Sunday morning, after the party?" "Alright." Akane was excited about this trip. Ranma wasn't going into detail for a reason, and she didn't mind waiting to find out what it was.


	4. Dinner

A.N.: Hey guys! I hope you like what is up so far! If not, don't worry—it's going to get better really soon-I know I keep saying that but its true! At least I hope so.... What am I talking about?! Yes—it will be way better! Recently I was shocked to find that my other story wasn't going as well as I had hoped. I feel like I let down all of my readers, but I'm going to try and fix all of the problems and finish it and then I'll put it up all perfect! But it doesn't concern you if you aren't reading that story—this story is going fine I think it's my best one—my first and best. I only have 3 and two are posted. The other one isn't typed. This story is very enjoyable for all of you fans! All of your reviews are valued!! Thank you to those who have reviewed me! don't stop!! Have a nice read... enjoy!

Disclaimer: this story is all mine, but the characters belong to R.T.

Chapter 4: Dinner

The rest of the walk home was very peaceful. It had taken twice as long as usual, however, because the two were taking their time. They walked in to the house and were met by Ryoga, who was apparently waiting for them. "You're late." he said, suspiciously to Ranma. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ryoga. We took our time to look at the cherry blossoms." She said. It was half true, they had taken the long route, which had many cherry blossom trees. As soon as Ryoga saw Akane, he remembered his reason for stopping them at the door and pulled them outside. "Akane, I'm sorry if I acted like a fool, or if I ever did anything that has caused you pain in the past. I apologize, and I would like to congratulate you on your engagement." He smiled. "Oh, Ryoga, you were never a fool. And thank you, it makes me very happy to have your support. I also hear you have agreed to be Ran's best man. It is so nice of you, and thank you for being such a good friend." She bowed and then hugged Ryoga. He was surprised by this, but was happy. "I'm going to go ask Kasumi about dinner, you to can talk if you want." Akane said. She did as she said she would and went inside to inquire about dinner. "Ran?" ryoga said. "Yes, it's what she wants to call me. You can make fun of it, but you'll be beaten to a pulp." He said. "Alright, alright." He said. "Akane and I have decided to go on a trip next week." Ranma said. "We'll probably be gone for the majority of the week. I don't think I want to be around when Shampoo finds out anyway." Ryoga's eyes widened a little. He knew that Shampoo was no fun on a regular basis when she didn't have Ranma, but if and when she finds out, "all hell is going to break loose, you know." He said. "Yes, I do. But, she has her own fiancé. Let her run to him for comfort. At least he'll stop hating me." Ranma said. "Mousse'll not hate you, but Shampoo and the old bag will. I think Happosai might even be upset." "I don't care, they all knew Akane and I were engaged from the get go, so its not my fault." "And what about Ukyo?" Ryoga asked. "She knows. I had to tell her this morning. She was hurt, but she's ok now. I think she's going to come to the party." He said. "What party?" It was Nabiki. She just opened the door to see what Ranma and Ryoga were up to. "What party?" Ryoga asked, trying to throw Nabiki off. "Don't play dumb with me Ryoga. Now tell me Ranma, I heard the word Party, and I want an explanation." She was getting ready to use her interrogative techniques, when a hand appeared on he shoulder, and Akane's voice said "what are you doing, Nabiki? Trying to incriminate them for talking? Hm?" She sounded intimidating. Akane knew how to deal with her sister Nabiki. She only had too many years of this to know how to fight back. "She thinks there's going to be a party." Ryoga said. Nabiki was staring to get mad. She didn't like how everyone was playing dumb. "Fine!" she said, throwing Akane's hand off of her shoulder. "Alright, have your fun, but you three are up to something. I know it! And I'll find out, mark my words, I'm going to find out about whatever it is!" She stormed off and upstairs into her room. The three in the doorway were a little intimidated, but figured 'what could Nabiki do in a single afternoon that could possibly ruin the surprise at dinner?' "Thanks Ryoga" Ranma and Akane said at the same time, and all three stepped back into the house. "What on earth was that all about?" Came Kasumi's voice from the kitchen. "Oh, I don't know. Nabiki is all frazzled up about something." Akane said. "Who knows what she plans to do with her 'experiments.'" Kasumi said. "Ryoga, why don't you help me with dinner. Ranma and Akane, why don't you two work on your homework?" Kasumi said. She was the one who basically treated everyone like they were her children, and she was the mother. She did all of the duties of a mother, ever since her own died years ago. Ryoga said "Coming!" And Ranma and Akane went off to do their homework.

Even though they both worked on their homework in Akane's room, they did it on opposite sides of the table, just incase Nabiki was planning on jumping through the door to catch them at any minute. They worked on their homework, and finished a few minutes before Kasumi called them for dinner. "The moment of truth..." Akane said. "Your sister didn't even do anything. She'll be so mad when she finds out." Ranma said. They both left Akane's room and in the hallway, Akane stopped Ranma before they reached the steps. "When do you want to do this?" She asked. "Well, now is as good a time as any, right?" he asked. Akane nodded and Ranma kissed her forehead reassuringly. She smiled and grabbed his hand. He led them down the stairs.

They walked into the dinning room, their hands still in a tight grip, their hearts beating very fast. When they reached the table, they remained standing, and before anyone could speak, Ranma held up an hand, to silence the unspoken words. "Soun," Ranma said, breaking the silence, "I-I would like to ask for your permission that I have Akane's hand in marriage." Ranma's heart was beating so hard he thought that it would explode. He had said it so many times in his head before, but saying it out loud was totally different. Soun stared at the two, standing there, their hands still clamped together. He had waited for this day for a very long time. He could see all along that, beneath the mask of 'hate' the two put up, they were really in love, and it was only a matter of time before this would happen. Soun also knew that this was how it would happen also. He knew that Ranma was a real gentleman, which meant that he was going to do everything as if they were never betrothed. "Oh, yes certainly." He said. It was startling because he didn't shed a single tear. "It was only a matter of time." He said. Everyone, except Genma opened their mouths in amazement. "You knew all along, even when we didn't know that we were in love?" Akane said. "Well I do know my own daughter, if I can say so myself." Soun said. "Yes, and if I know my son, I'd say he fell head over heels for you the moment he saw you." Genma said. "So, this isn't a surprise?" Ranma said. "Well it is to us!" Kasumi and Nabiki said. "So," Soun started in again, "How long has it been official?" He asked, and all of the attention moved back to the couple. "Just a couple of days." Ranma said. He was really disappointed that their fathers already knew. Of course they were happy, but everything up to now was an act. He and Akane sat at the table. "and I assume that Ryoga already knows, because he isn't shocked at all either." Soun said. Ryoga nodded. "I'm just happy Ranma didn't go and do anything really stupid with any of his 'so called other fiancées.'" Genma said. "Boys will be boys, but im proud that you kept a level head, son." "So, our noble fathers have figured it out, and you two decided to leave us in the dark?" Nabiki was really mad that she wasn't the one who exploited them. "Nabiki, its not like we were leaving you guys out of the loop. We just needed time to ourselves so we could figure everything out." Akane said. "We're telling all of you now. And we have decided to throw a party." Ranma said. Suddenly Kasumi let out a burst of tears. "I can't believe my little sister is all grown up! And she's getting married! Before me! I need a fiancé!!" She was happy for her sister, of course but she was now getting strange ideas about getting old in her head. Perhaps it was really time to move things along with Dr. Tofu. "Aw, now, now Kasumi. Everything will be all right. You'll be married soon enough, but when you do, you can't leave me! I'll be stuck here with Nabiki for meals! She doesn't cook as well as you do!!" Soun was getting sad too. Somehow, when Ranma and Akane planned on telling everyone of their engagement, they thought their fathers would be spreading more tears of joy, and they would be chanting something about the unity of their schools. Suddenly, Genma remembered something about a party. "Did I hear you say something about a party Ranma?" he said. This brought all of the attention back to the happy couple. "Uh, Yeah. We're having an engagement party on Saturday night to celebrate our engagement." Ranma said. "Well we must send out invitations!" Soun said, his attention back on his youngest daughter. "Well, we were thinking of just inviting people in person." Akane said. "Have you invited Dr. Tofu yet Akane?" Kasumi asked with a bit of impatience. "We were going to tomorrow." Akane said. "we wanted to tell you guys first, before we start inviting people to our party." She said. Ranma, following Ryoga's example, started eating. It had been a long day, and Ukyo hadn't given him his usual platter of okonomiyaki. He was starving and he had said what he wanted to say. Since the conversation was not revolving around him anymore, his hunger took over. He was actually dreading telling everyone before dinner, because he feared he would be too uneasy to eat. He thought that there would be a slight chance of yelling, or throwing things, or attacks from Soun or Genma, but then again, they only knew of the _engagement_. Everyone followed suit and began eating. Soun especially, savored every bite, thinking it would be one of the last of Kasumi's meals he could enjoy. All of a sudden, Genma started wailing. "Its finally sinking in! I always knew this day would come, but its here and I can't believe it! My baby boy is growing up, and getting married,"

"To my baby girl!" Soun finished the sentence. It was apparently sinking in. The two fathers sat sobbing into each other's arms. Eventually after sobbing about their children growing up, and "birds leaving the nest" and what not, they started sobbing over how their martial arts schools were going to be united. Kasumi and Nabiki tried to comfort the two sobbing men, but Ranma and Akane however, started laughing. They were cracking up. Tears were now streaming out of Ranma and Akane's eyes too, because this was what they expected all along from their fathers. It was frightening to see them with calm faces before, but they were relieved now. Ryoga started to laugh as well. However he wasn't laughing at Soun and Genma like Ranma and Akane. He was laughing at Ranma and Akane, who were laughing at Soun and Genma. He saw the family and how they were all reacting to each other. It was really funny. He saw two grown men, and masters of "Anything Goes Martial Arts" Crying in both sorrow and joy. And then he saw the children of the masters laughing at them because of the crying, and the other two children trying to comfort them at the same time. Ryoga couldn't get over the weirdness of the situation, and started laughing because of the irony of it.


	5. Schoolyard Duel

A.N.: Originally I was just going to go straight to the party preparations chapter, but I figure what's Akane being officially engaged without a good fight for her?! So this is for all of the Neko-Ranma fans... and its pretty funny if I say so myself! Kodachi also gets a little action, but not much—I figure she'll help her brother out-that way she'll have Ranma (in her mind), and Kuno'll have Akane. Um- Yeah- Ranma never loses! And thank you so much for all of the great reviews!!! Oh to answer some of them—um, I guess pre Nodoka, because I actually have her in this one, but its one of those things where she hasn't seen him since he was a baby and in my fic there's no such thing as their agreement of seboku and stuff... and sorry about the fluff!! I'm a fluffy writer.... I love the fluff!!! And this fic is basically my first fic ever so I didn't really have the knowledge of writing, so srry about the paragraphs... I tried to fix some! Please keep reading! It gets way better and I'm trying to make it exciting... thanks! Please send reviews! They fuel me to write!! Happy reading!

Disclaimer: This story is totally mine, but the characters are the property of Rumiko T.

Chapter 5: Schoolyard Duel

The rest of the night was hectic. After the laughter died down, there were more arguments and many, many questions about the wedding. It was a lot for the newly engaged couple to handle. "Maybe we should have waited longer to tell them." Akane said with a raspy voice from all of yelling that took place. Ranma was supporting her head, while they sat at the somewhat calm dinner table. Kasumi and Nabiki were clearing, and serving dessert. "Yeah, it would have given us more time to think about these things ourselves." Ranma said, leaning his head on Akane's. they were both way too exhausted to put up with anymore questions. "hey Akane," Ranma said. He looked down, and saw that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "Oh, it can wait until tomorrow." He said. "I think its bed time." He informed the table. He got up, and gently carried Akane upstairs and into her room. He placed her under the covers, and suddenly realized how tired he was also. He was too tired to even make it back to his own room. Akane's bed was conveniently in front of his, and it looked so comfy. He nearly collapsed on top of it, next to his fiancée. He took off his silk shirt, not wanting to wrinkle it, and fell almost immediately to sleep.

Although Ranma had always been incredibly strong, he was also incredibly delicate.

Akane woke up in the middle of the night and felt someone next to her. She turned and saw Ranma, lying there, on top of the comforter, and shivering because of it. Akane got worried that he might catch a cold, since he already caught a chill, and found an extra comforter in her closet, and draped it over him. When she got back into bed, he was still shivering, so she wrapped her arms around him, hoping her body heat would keep him warm. She fell asleep moments later, holding onto her beloved.

The next morning was just as hectic as dinner, the night before. Ranma and Akane jumped awake when they heard Kasumi's voice from the bottom of the steps. "Ranma!! Akane!! You two aren't awake yet?! You're going to be late! Wake up!!" Akane jumped up and out of bed. This sudden movement jolted Ranma out of his toasty sleep. He woke up and realized where he was.

"Oh, Akane, sorry, I fell asleep on your bed last night after I tucked you in. I was really tired, and judging by how you fell asleep on my shoulder-""Ranma hurry up and get dressed! We slept in! Oh we're going to be so late!" Akane was bustling around her room, and Ranma jumped up. "What?! Oh my god..." he jumped up and ran out of her room and into his. He threw on a new shirt and pants. He then ran to do the usual morning routine in the bathroom, but in half the time. On his way out of the bathroom, he passed Akane, who was on her way in. "Ran, grab me some toast, and I'll meet you by the door." She said and hurried into the bathroom. "Okay." Ranma said to the bathroom door. He hurried downstairs, grabbed their lunches and book bags, and in his other hand grabbed a handful of toast, and hurried to the front door to wait for Akane, who was now hurrying down the stairs. She joined him, and they hurried out of the front door. "Did a hurricane just pass through?" Soun said, not noticing the lightening fast blur that was his son-in-law to be.

Akane and Ranma slowed down a little bit, and she took some of the weight off of him. She took her lunch, packed it into her bag, and then took Ranma's lunch and packed it into his bag for him too. She handed him his book bag, and he held out his hand, offering over some toast. She instead took the piece that was currently being eaten right from his mouth. "Hey, I was eating that!" He shouted in protest. "Well, then I guess you're going to have to take it back!" She said, taking a bite out of the half eaten toast. "Is that a challenge, or a dare?" Ranma said slyly. He didn't bother to wait for the answer. Just as she was about to pop the last piece in her mouth, he grabbed it and gobbled it up. "Hey! I was gunna eat that!" She said, playfully upset and cutely pouting. "Well then, I guess you're just gunna have to have one of these." Ranma said, holding out his hand, which had about four pieces of toast in it. He took a piece of toast and held it up in front of Akane's mouth. "Here, allow me. Oops, too slow!" he said with a chuckle, and took a bite of the toast. "Ranma Saotome, I will get you!" Akane was steamed and hungry. She jumped up, and tried to steal the rest of the toast. "Uh-Uh-Uh" Ranma said, shaking his head and waving his pointer finger. "Fine then, that was your last chance Saotome. Try and escape if you will." "I dare you to try to-" Akane pulled Ranma in for a soul searing kiss. It was almost too intense for this early in the morning. She let go after a minute to give time for breathing and said, "Oh, you did it now, Saotome, now I'm not hungry for toast anymore. I kinda like how you taste." They started kissing again. Ranma however, kept the toast in his hand, because he knew she would be hungry later. They stopped their kiss after a minute, when they remembered they were hurrying because they were going to be late. "Why does school have to start this early?!" Ranma said, agitated. His morning was finally beginning to return to normal, but now the rush for school was on again. They sighed and started off towards another boring day.

When they reached the schoolyard, the bells were ringing. Akane was happy she didn't have to fight off every single boy in school who wanted a date. However, one still remained, his samurai sword at the ready. "Kuno, not toady! Don't you listen to anything I say?" she growled when the bells stopped ringing. "Now we're late!" Kuno looked at Akane and then back at Ranma "I _do_ listen to you, miss Tendo. My challenge is not for you today. I challenge _you_, Ranma Saotome, to a fight for the love of Akane!" "Kuno!" Ranma sighed, "Don't you remember any of our previous fights?! Why even bother to ask me? Is there any sort of record you intend to beat by me kicking your ass again?" Ranma was not happy. His morning was off to a rough start. There was so much chaos _and_ he was now late for school because of this idiot Kuno. "Listen Kuno, I accept your challenge, but I am setting the terms. Us, right here, lunchtime. And we'll do as you say. We'll fight for the love of Akane. Now can we please get to class?" "Fine then! Prepare for your defeat at lunchtime, Saotome. You will lose, and I will finally win the heart of my beloved Akane. PUNCH! Ranma had to put an end to the madness. Kuno's yelling had gotten the attention of the entire student body, and they were hanging out of windows, ready to watch a fight. "I'll see you at lunch Kuno, don't wimp out now, I'll be waiting for you!" Ranma grabbed Akane's hand, and they both hurried into the building as Kuno fell to his knees. Their late passes were "unexcused" as usual. The secretary in the office hardly thought "being held up by 'Upper Classman Kuno'" was a good enough excuse. It was funny how familiar the secretary's shouts of "Unexcused" were to Ranma and Akane. Somehow, people who didn't care about punctuality at all were always holding them up, and causing them to be late for school.

Ranma and Akane ate the rest of the toast during first period. Sure it was cold, but it was breakfast. This annoyed Ranma because if he knew he was going to be late anyway, he would have stayed home and had a proper breakfast. Maybe he would have missed Kuno and his "challenge" by coming a little later as well. He wasn't at all worried, however. He was just annoyed. Unless Kuno was hiding something up his sleeve, he wouldn't last more than a minute. Ranma was an extremely experienced fighter. He was well on his way to becoming a master of "Anything Goes Martial Arts" which he had been learning since he can remember. With all of the "training" he had done since his first fight with Kuno, it was obvious that it was a waste of time, but there was still honor in a proper battle. "Besides," he thought, "I never lose." This was a bit "big headed" of Ranma to say, but it was true. Whenever he was challenged, he would find a way to win, whether he fought as a man or a woman.

Lunchtime was just arriving by the time the entire school knew about the fight for Akane's love. When the bell rang, people were cheering Ranma on, and telling Akane that if Ranma loses, choose him anyway. "He won't lose. He never loses." She told the crowd as they were making their way outside. Ranma blushed. He knew that he never loses, but he was flattered that Akane said it with so much pride. She was not afraid to tell anyone this. But there was also a buildup of angst. "What if I lose?" Ranma thought. He would never forgive himself. It didn't matter if he broke his wining streak, it mattered that if he lost to Kuno, he would lose his "right" to Akane. Kuno would automatically take "ownership" over Ranma's fiancée. "I am not about to let him do that!" he said. Akane looked up at him confused, but she squeezed his arm, gave a reassuring smile, and said, "I love you too much to let him have me. You already claim my heart, and there's no way anyone else can have it!" not caring that the entire student body was watching, she gave Ranma a passionate kiss, and whispered so only he could hear, "Go get him, my love." The students cheered even louder as they kissed again, but it died down as soon as they caught sight of Kuno. He was walking out towards the couple, and pointing his sword at Ranma. Ranma nudged Akane, telling her to go watch from the sidelines. She obeyed and hurried out of Kuno's line of fire.

"I am pleased to see you didn't wimp out, Saotome." Kuno said. "Likewise." Ranma said. "Lets get this over with, Kuno!" Ranma said, and Kuno nodded. He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. Ranma was confused by this. A moment later, he realized it was a trick. Kuno set him up. Unfortunately, Kuno knew the one thing that Ranma feared most in the entire world. Ranma stood idle as they were brought towards him, held in Kodachi's arms. "Oh, no!" Akane said. "Ranma, No!" she yelled. It was too late. Ranma had seen what Kodachi was holding. Unable to look away, he heard Kuno's triumphant laugh. "I have you this time, Soatome! Behold! Thanks to my lovely sister, who was more than happy to help out, I give you, your downfall."

"You know this was very stupid of you, Kuno." Ranma said in a weak, shaky voice. "I expected more from you. This will be over sooner than I thought." He said, and started walking towards Kodachi. "Kodachi let them go!" Kuno said. She obeyed and resealed what she was holding in her arms. The two creatures leapt, and bounded towards Ranma, sensing his fear. "Ha!" Ranma said, and caught one of the furry cats in his arms. "I-I w-win..." Ranma said, and fell to his knees, with the cat in his arms. Releasing the creature a moment later, he let out a loud "MEORWWW!!" And galloped towards Kuno. Somewhere in his planning, Kuno stupidly forgot this part. "What's happened to him?!" many of the students were now saying. "He's transformed into the Neko-ken..." Akane said. "And I was actually worried Kuno would do something smart!" She said. "The only thing I have to worry about is Ranma after he beats Kuno." She said. Ranma leapt from the ground and was about to attack Kuno, when Kodachi's Ribbon wrapped itself around Ranma's neck. "Meowurr!!" He said and glared at the Black Rose. "This is what you get, Ranma, when you go around with girls behind my back! I Kodachi the Black Rose, will stop you! My brother will win the heart of Akane, and I will win your heart." She said. Ranma didn't understand a single word this crazy girl just said, but because of her actions, she was now his enemy too. He clawed the ribbon from his neck, and bounded towards her. He clawed the rest of the ribbon on his way, and everything she threw at him in order to stop his attack. What stopped him, however, was Kuno's blade. The wooden sword hit Ranma in the chest and made him leap backwards a few feet. Kuno stepped in front of his sister and said, "This fight is between you and me." Ranma understood this by the way Kuno glared at him. Ranma smirked, and with another "Meowrr!" He leapt. He was too fast, and landed on Kuno's chest. He clawed him, and jumped back to the ground in front of his adversary. The top of Kuno's outfit fell to the ground in shreds. The bottom half was still hanging on by belt. Kuno was frightened by this action because it was very fast. It was his favorite outfit, so he started towards the Neko-Ranma. There was another "Meorwrr!" As Ranma jumped, Kuno's sword exploded into many pieces of shredded wood, and fell. Kodachi was already on her way out, and Kuno, accepting defeat, followed suit. "One day, Saotome! I will defeat you!" he shouted and jumped out of the schoolyard, to admit defeat elsewhere from the many students.

Ranma, only seeing his enemy run away, followed, him. Akane was worried he would do this when Kuno finally accepted defeat and retreated. She started chasing after her Neko-fiancé as he leapt from the schoolyard after Kuno. She saw him jump from tree branch to tree branch down the road. She was thankful they weren't people, when they exploded into shredded wood before her eyes. Before he rounded the corner, she shouted "RANMA!!" He stopped, and turned around. "Meowurr!" He shouted happily as he bounded down the street towards her. When Ranma was in his Neko-ken, the only thing he responded to was Akane. It was because, nature-wise, she was his mate. Even before they were real "mates" he acknowledged her as his, and that was all there was to it. It was a real sign that she commanded his heart 100. He smiled his little cat smile and leapt with another "Meowurr!" And landed right in Akane's lap. He snuggled himself into his mate's lap and stomach, taking in her smell. "Meowrr..." he purred, nestling his head on her chest. This was the only way to calm the Neko-Ranma down until he turned back into his normal self.

Many of the students had followed Akane to the edge of the schoolyard. They saw her cradling the snuggly Neko-Ranma. "That's love for ya!" some of the students shouted, but were swatted down by the girls. "Don't you see she's calming him down?" they said to the boys who were hollering. The noise died down and then Akane took Neko-Ranma's face and gave him a kiss on the lips, which brought him out of the Neko form.

"Oh, no..." Ranma said when he realized where he was and what must've happened. "Its ok, Ranma, you took care of Kuno and Kodachi. They ran home crying after the little scare you gave them." Akane smiled, and got up, after Ranma got off of her. The hoots and hollering from the onlookers were now more audible because they realized Ranma was now back to normal. Ranma and Akane stood staring at each other, not listening to the students' words. "I won, and you are mine forever!" Ranma smiled. "Thank you, for making sure I'll never have to put up with _him_ ever again." She said and smiled back. "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!!" Was being shouted at them from the crowd. "C'mere, you!" Ranma lifted Akane into his arms, and kissed her. It was so passionate, Akane could feel both their hearts pounding. He put her down, and they started walking back into school, holding hands. Everyone remained cheering, and Ranma received many pats on the back. He glanced over, and even saw Ukyo smiling. "And now to eat lunch-finally!" Ranma said, but let out a cry of disgust when the bell rang seconds later.


	6. Party Preparations

A.N.: Hey guys! Surprise surprise this chapter is early right? yep! It's really because I'm going away this weekend and I wont have any time to post so you are all lucky ducks! It's really really early b/c I wont even be able to post tomorrow because I have a field hockey game! That's the sport right thurr... anyways! Back to the story and have a lovely weekend! I am so sorry!! This chapter is super super short, but I'm posting two. The next chapter certainly makes up for this one thought, cause its really long. That is because it's the party chapter!! And some people have to find out and maybe crash? Who knows! Last night I just finished the first chapter of my new story-I didn't know that it would be filled with so much drama! There's quite the cliff hanger!! Enough about that, I'm still working on the same chapter I've been writing for a week! Its really long!! But its so happy because a lot of good things happen in that chapter! I wont keep you from reading! I'll post my new story soon!

Disclaimer: This story is all mine, but the Characters belong to R. T.!!

Chapter 6: Party Preparations

The rest of he school day was filled with more joy than the morning. Ranma felt better because the teacher after lunch let him eat during class, because she had a particular disgust with Kuno as well, and she heard about the outcome of the challenge.

On their way home, Akane suggested they stop over at Dr. Tofu's office because she was worried Ranma sustained injuries during the fight. They waved to Panda-Genma, who had a part time job at Doctor Tofu's office. "Hey, pops! Whatsup?" Ranma asked the panda, and was slammed in the back of the head with one giant, furry paw. He dismissed it and he and Akane walked into the building. "I'm telling you Akane, I'm fine!" Ranma shouted as they entered Dr. Tofu's office. "I thought that was you, Ranma, and Akane! How lovely to see you!" Dr. Tofu was a very nice man and a friend of the family. It was a bit obvious, because there were many injuries. With Akane training as a child, and now, with Ranma, Genma, and the many "fiancé(e)s, Dr. Tofu was around very often.

"Hello Doctor Tofu," Akane said. She and Ranma both bowed. "I was just wondering, if you wouldn't mind taking a look at Ranma. He was in a fight today, and he went Neko." "Oh did he?" Dr. Tofu said with mild interest. "And you won, of course?" the good doctor asked, already knowing the answer. "The only thing, I would say, that could've gotten injured, is your hands. Hold them out for me." Ranma did as told. "Hm...A few minor scratches, that's it. Its nothing he can't handle." When he saw the relief on Akane's face, he knew something was "_different_..." he mumbled. "What?" Akane asked. "Hm.... something's different with you two." He said, skeptically eyeing the two. "Wow, is that easy to see?" Ranma asked. "Yeah something's different. We're engaged, officially." He said, smiling. "How nice!" Dr. Tofu said. "I'm sure everyone is so happy! How odd, Ranma, your father never mentioned it." "Well, he wanted us to tell you, and here we are, besides we wanted to tell you." Akane said, blushing. She always had a girlish crush on Doctor Tofu, but this was up until she met the man standing next to her. "Actually, Doctor Tofu, We're having a party on Saturday night, at our house, and we would be very honored if you would come." Akane said. Doctor Tofu's face brightened a little bit. If he went to this party, he would most undoubtedly see Kasumi. He had always been attracted to her. Ever since they first met, when he made a house call as the assistant doctor. He was young and just starting his career. Akane had gotten injured while training, and Doctor Tofu was the only available person. That was when he met Kasumi. It was the love and compassion in her tear-filled eyes that he fell in love with. Ever since that day, he always prayed that she would visit him everyday, although, not for medical reasons. "No, I think I would be the one honored, Akane." he said, and smiled at the happy couple. They said their good-byes and thank yous, and set off for home. There were many preparations for this party. Much planning had to take place, and many people still needed to be invited.

Over the next few days, these things were done. The necessary friends were invited, and Kasumi was currently handling preparations. It was now Friday, the day before the party and Ranma and Akane were just getting home from school. Since he had nothing better to do, Ryoga was helping out, and had been named "Assistant" by Kasumi. He did all of the dangerous things. He hung the signs from the ceiling, and moved around lots of furniture. He did the digging in the dusty basements for the punch bowl, and other dinning ware. This was all he could do because he was stuck at the Tendo training hall, not wanting to venture off and get lost. He wanted to support his friends, especially Akane, so he wouldn't risk anything that would make him miss the party. Nabiki was sent out to do all of the shopping. Ryoga refused to go with her, so she was forced to drag her father along. Soun was pretty lazy, so he agreed. Ranma and Ryoga were sparring in the Training Hall, and Akane was working on her homework. School was unfortunately six days a week, but it was necessary. Ranma and Ryoga had a nice work out by dinnertime, and had worked up quite an appetite. Ranma thought it was nice having Ryoga around, because they was almost equally matched when they sparred. Ranma's work out with his father was less equal, because age was catching up on Genma, and Ranma was growing to be a fantastic martial artist. Akane also thought it was very nice having Ryoga around the house. Her sisters picked him on, but he could handle it. Ryoga was a good friend, and Akane enjoyed the "man-to-man" moments he and Ranma shared. The next day came and went, until the last bell of the day, telling students it was the weekend, and more importantly, Saturday night!


	7. The Party

A.N.: Hey readers! I'm sorry I left such a cliffhanger on the last chapter.... I wouldn't have liked it if I didn't know what was happening and I had to wait a week.... I'm so happy that I have a little following... thank you so much for sticking with this story! I am really flattered that I get such great reviews! (Not one flame on this story) I'm really excited, and you know- your reviews help me write because I know I have your support!! If you have any suggestions also.... I wrote this story over the summer, and I kind of left it at a drama filled point unable to continue. I mean, I'm really scared that I'll mess up and disappoint! How could I forgive myself if I did that... but I'm trying and I've gotten a couple of paragraphs written, but I think I might need more encouragement or something to push me to work hard. I don't want to stall you from reading! This chapter is great if I say so myself, so enjoy and be sure to tell me what you think! And now- the chapter you've all been waiting for!!!

Disclaimer: This story is mine, but the characters are Rumiko's!!

Chapter 7: The Party

The walk home on Saturday afternoon was lovely. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and Ranma and Akane decided to take their time. The sun was shining, and it was warm. "These are perfect weather conditions for the party." Akane said. "Yes, and for our trip tomorrow." Ranma said. They were holding hands and smiling. "Just imagine, Ranma. We're going to be a married couple soon, and we still have one more year of high school." Akane said. "Yeah, that is a little shocking if you look at it from the outside, but I love you too much to wait. I want to be married to you. I want to call you my wife, and I'll be so happy to know you are. I must be the luckiest man in the entire universe." "Yes, I want nothing more than to call you husband. Sure fiancé is lovely, for now." Akane said. "Hm... the wedding is in two months. Two whole months... that is perfect. It's not too long to wait, but it's not too soon either. It's perfect." Ranma swooped down and planted a kiss on Akane's lips. She found it most welcome, and she was filled with happiness. "Oh Ranma, I can't tell you how happy I am now that I have you. You complete me. You're my soul mate. I love you so much." She captured him in another deep kiss. There they were, standing in the sunshine on a beautiful spring day, holding each other, and absorbed completely in one another.

They arrived at the Tendo Training Hall a little while later, holding hands. They didn't care who saw them, it was all right, but there was one rule that they had to obey. Their fathers set it in order to "keep the peace" in the house. Ranma and Akane were to live in the house until they graduated high school, and they were to sleep in their own rooms during that time. They found it really unfair, being that they would be married in two months. However, their fathers did say that they could sleep in one room one condition. That was if Ranma agreed to be a girl during that time. It was going to be hard to be married and be forced to live like plain old housemates if Ranma were to keep his pride as a man, but there were ways around this little rule. They would eventually figure it out, nut for now, they agreed. Besides, they saw each other all the time. It would be nice if they spent every second of everyday together, but a little time alone is also good. Although they were in the deepest of love, it would be moving a little too fast to just drop everything and commit themselves 100 to each other. The amount of time they spent together now, was good. They weren't married yet, and this was a good reminder. It brought them back to reality if they ever got too carried away.

"Kasumi," Akane said, entering the kitchen, "Are you cooking dinner for everyone tonight?" Akane asked. "Well, there is going to be a lot of snack food, but I figure, these people are going to be very hungry." Kasumi said with a smile. "Wow, Kasumi, you really know how to please a crowd." Ranma said, following Akane in. "Are you sure there's enough food? A lot of people are going to come." "Oh yes, and I even have my helper with me. He should be out back setting the table. Would you two mind seeing if he needs any help?" She asked. "Oh sure, Kasumi. I really can't thank you enough for what you are doing for us!" Akane said. She left and pulled Ranma by the forearm. "Lets go. Maybe Ryoga needs our help?" She said and they went out to the back yard, where the majority of the party was going to take place. They found Ryoga placing plastic ware and plates on the long table. There was no wind, so nothing was in danger of blowing away. "Hey, Ryoga, do you need any help?" Ryoga looked up at them. "Oh hey, um yeah sure, I just got started. I got lost on my way out here." He said. "I'll help Ryoga!" Ranma said, only too fast. "Um, Akane, this doesn't look too hard, so I think we can handle it. Maybe Kasumi has something else you can do for her?" Ranma said. "Oh, okay. You boys have fun now. I'll be inside then." She said and left with a smile.

"That was a little hasty." Ryoga said. "I didn't think you were that eager to help, and you wanted to help _me_ of all people. Something's up." Ryoga said with a sly look. "You are definitely up to something..." "Well, I figure, she can help her sister, and they can do some girly bonding and stuff." Ranma said. "That's mighty considerate of you." Ryoga said raising his eyebrows. "Now tell me, what's really up?" He caught Ranma now. Girly bonding? He was going to have to come up with a better excuse to get his fiancée out of the area than girly bonding. "Well, the thing is, Ryoga, Akane and I are taking a trip tomorrow." Ranma said fessing up. He didn't look guilty of something, he looked nervous. "Yes, you and Akane are going on a trip..." Ryoga said repeating Ranma's words. "Yeah, and we'll be gone for the majority of the week." Ranma said blushing. It was definitely embarrassment. No doubt about it. Ranma never blushed. "You guys will be gone for most of next week..." Ryoga repeated. This was really starting to annoy Ranma. "Yeah, we're going on a trip, and we'll be gone for most of next week and...and..." he was having a hard time spitting it out. "And?" Ryoga asked moving his arm in an impatient manner, trying to irk Ranma enough to spit it out. He was growing redder with every passing second. "What is it already?!" He shouted in agitation. "And I'm taking Akane to meet my mother." Ranma said. He still looked like there was more to it. "Is that it?" Ryoga asked. "Um no, there's more." "I'm not standing around here for my beauty! What are you trying to say?!" Ryoga's patience was almost gone. If Ranma didn't say it soon, he was going to force it out of him. He was actually interested in this conversation. What was Ranma going to do with Akane up at his house? Surely it wasn't anything bad or inappropriate. Ranma wouldn't waste Ryoga's time with _that_. "I'm going to give her an engagement ring." Ranma said finally. "Oh," Ryoga said. This was interesting indeed. He wasn't one for talks of weddings, especially with Ranma, who was going to marry the girl he really did love, but it was nice knowing that talking about Akane really made him nervous. He was happy that Ranma cared about her this much. He cared about her enough to freak out about an engagement ring. He didn't even have to worry about popping the question. "So, this ring..." "Now that, Ryoga, you will find out later." Ranma said. He was quickly regaining his usual essence. "So then why did you start telling me about this in the first place?" Ryoga was now getting annoyed again. "Well, I wanted your help planning it. All I know is love. I'm not very romantic." "Well then why the hell are you asking me?! I hate Romance! Why would I even make an effort? And for _you_? No way!" "But don't you have _any_ ideas?" He said pleadingly. "Well, if I was you, I would do it at night. When your mom isn't around. Maybe under the moon even. I think the middle of next week is the full moon." "That's a great idea! Ryoga-see this is why you are the best man! Because you are perfect for helping me out! Thanks!" Ranma was a little embarrassed he had to ask Ryoga for help, but he was too in love to think about anything else. The only thing in front of him was a simple task. He now had an idea to work off of to plan how this task would be accomplished. "Now, can we please, please set this table?" Ryoga said, bringing Ranma back to reality. Ranma nodded and they set the rest of the giant table.

Akane washed some dishes for her eldest sister while talking about girly things. Kasumi expressed her jealousy and her wishes that she had a fiancé of her own. Akane gave her words of encouragement, and they had lots of fun. After the dishes were done, and Ranma and Ryoga reported back for more orders, Kasumi suggested that the "Couple of Honor" get ready. She kept Ryoga at her side, and asked him to chop up some vegetables. Kasumi washed them because vegetables require cleaning in cold water, and she had inkling of why P-Chan always "got lost" when Ryoga was around.

Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane went up to Akane's room. She had been keeping her dress, and his outfit in her closet. They both changed and stood amazed at how fantastic they looked together. Akane was wearing a beautiful black dress. It was knee length, and sleeveless. The material had a beautiful Japanese texture and hugged her every curve. There were beads around the neckline and bottom. "You look stunning." Ranma said, gaping at her. She smiled and blushed. "That's why I didn't show you. I wanted it to be a surprise!" She said. "Now you, on the other hand. Mr. Saotome, You look absolutely dashing." She said. He was wearing a black shirt with short sleeves. The material of the shirt matched with that of Akane's dress perfectly. "This is the first time I've ever seen you wear real pants, I think. And oh my god! Look at those shoes! Haha I think I have a real Gentleman on my hands here." She smiled and smoothed out the collar of his shirt. It was very tight, so his muscular form was more noticeable than usual. She liked this.

"I can't tell you how happy I am with this weather." Ranma said. "I'm happy I don't have to be worried if its going to rain or not." Ranma said. "I can't wait to find a cure for this stupid curse." Ranma said. "Well, its only physical." Akane said, trying to cheer him up a bit. "I mean, you're still you, in any form you have. And I fell in love with _you_. So no matter who you are, or what you look like, I will always love you." She pulled her fiancé down for a kiss. The depth of her words hit him, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. She stood tiptoed, her chest and stomach resting on his. After a minute they pulled apart to breathe. "You always say just the thing I need to hear." He said. "Yes, and you always hold me when I need to be held." She put her shoes on, and did her hair and make-up. Ranma sat on her bed, watching her. He loved the gentleness of her hands, and the way her body moved when she fixed little pins in her hair. By the time she finished, the sun started setting, and the first guests were arriving.

Ranma and Akane made their way downstairs to greet the first guests. They were Doctor Tofu, and Ukyo. They had both dressed up and had to convince many people that they arrived at the same time _by chance_, and were not together. Soun and Genma were the official greeters, and Nabiki was the more active hostess. Kasumi was the less active hostess because she was in the kitchen. Doctor Tofu was quick to find her there and ask if her could be of any assistance. She was only too happy to accept, and Ryoga was forced to go "elsewhere." Ryoga decided to sit with Ukyo, to make her less uncomfortable, but failing. They started an awkward conversation, and were relieved when Ranma and Akane joined them a few moments later.

"You guys look so nice!" Ukyo said. "Oh, thank you Ukyo! You look very nice as well." Akane said. "And this is definitely a first-Ranma's wearing real pants!" Ukyo said with more enthusiasm. Ranma smiled and blushed at this. "Is this your doing Akane?" Ryoga said skeptically. "Well, yes and no." Ranma said. "Akane suggested I wear pants, and I wanted to because they look nice." "And you look nice in them." Akane said smiling. "Yes he does!" Ukyo said, momentarily forgetting that Ranma was going to be married to Akane, and she was sitting at his engagement party. "Oh, I'm sorry! Of course Akane is allowed to compliment your pants, but it is not my place! I'm sorry, please forgive me." Ranma was blushing more, and Akane answered for him. "It's alright, Ukyo. He's still your friend, and I give you permission to compliment Ran any time!" she said chuckling. The girls smiled and blushed and started giggling. Ryoga never had patience for giggling, but there was something about Ukyo that caught his eye. 'Of course!' he thought. 'She's going through the same thing I am! She's had her heart broken too.' He saw her in a new light now. She was a girl in pain, but she was awkwardly trying to hide it in front of the people who caused it. Ryoga found it impressive that she was trying to be their friend. Well, he was doing the same thing, so he understood. "Um, Ryoga?" She was looking at him. "Yes?" He said jumping out of his daze. "Are you alright? Akane and I were joking about your outfit, and we noticed you didn't react. Are you okay?" 'Wow! She's concerned about me!' He thought, and smiled. "Oh, were you? Well, I'm sorry to say since I am a guest here, I don't have any dress pants, and as a matter of fact I don't have any dress pants at home either." He realized with a frown. "I would have gone out to buy some, but I have the worst sense of direction, and Akane's sisters were too busy. Its okay, I don't find them necessary." "Well, I do! You're going to need some for the wedding right? Well, even if you don't, every man needs a good pair of dress pants for all occasions! I'll take you." She said with a smile. "You would do that? For me? Thank you! That's so great!" He was beaming. Maybe Ukyo was his chance at recovery. He could get over his loss, and she could get over hers. Maybe this was why she was being so nice. "Well, is nice to help a friend in need." She said more seriously.

More guests had arrived now. Some of them were from the school, and some were people from town. Ryoga and Ukyo sat talking on the couch for a while, not noticing the new party members. Doctor Tofu and Kasumi were working in the kitchen chatting jovially, and Nabiki started flirting with the high school boys. Akane and Ranma took over the position of hostess and host, and were greeting the newcomers. The amount of compliments they received was innumerable. They were so happy, you couldn't take the smile off of their faces with a crow bar. Soun and Genma assumed the roles of the happy fathers of the bride and groom, and sat chatting with many people.

By the time everyone arrived, dinner was being served and there were just enough seats outside. The large table was lit by candles and it's was relatively warm. It was perfect. The party members toasted to a long, healthy, prosperous marriage, with lots of love "and babies!" one of the people shouted and everyone laughed and cheered. "We would also like to say something." Ranma said to the crowd. "Its not babies is it?" one of the crazy people said. "Haha, no, no, we've decided on a date! Akane and I are going to get married in exactly two months from now! And you're all invited!" There were more cheers, and Ranma sat back down. Ryoga and Ukyo sat together, sitting across from Ranma and Akane. Soun and Genma commanded one end of the table, and Kasumi and Doctor Tofu commanded the other. The food was delicious. It started to get a bit chilly, and everyone went inside. There were about thirty people, and they all stood talking and laughing. Cheers and "congratulations!" followed the couple of honor. All of a sudden the front door burst open.

Ranma protectively covered Akane, hugging her to him and pinning her against the wall so she was safe from all harm. He had expected this. He had expected there to be some sort of "disturbance." "So she finally found out." Ryoga said. He was protectively covering Ukyo too. "Yeah, I was wondering when she'd do this." Ranma said. He was a bit agitated that she had to bring all of her trouble to Akane's house during their engagement party.

He looked around. She was standing in the doorway, her hair disheveled, her eyes red and her cheeks wet. She was holding her spear and had a look to kill.

"Is it true? You choose silly girl over me, Ranma?" She was eyeing him. Her eyes dropped to Akane, who was being held so tightly in his arms. "Yes, Shampoo." He said. His expression was quite different from what she was used to. Usually when he saw her and she bothered him for dates, he would look annoyed in a playful way. But now, it was different. It was protective. It was a look of warning. Akane was looking out from his embrace. She was looking scared and startled. "Ranma, You-you can't choose her! She's not-she can't-no!" Shampoo held her position, but tears were flowing down her face. "I hate you. I HATE YOU!!!" She was too afraid to attack him. She knew that if she did, he would fight her off, and then shut her out of his life for good. She didn't want that. They were only engaged. They weren't married yet, and she never wanted to be shut out of his life completely. It would make maters worse, and people would start hating her as the girl who tried to sabotage Ranma's engagement. She couldn't attack Akane either, so she had to figure out a way. Even if he would never love her, she was determined to win. She wasn't about to lose to this little silly schoolgirl. "I will win...even if it takes a thousand years! I cannot face humiliation in my village." "I'm sorry for that Shampoo, I really am. I've been betrothed to Akane since before I knew what marriage meant. Besides, I love her." He squeezed her in his arms. "I love her more than anything else in the world! I could never even think about another person the same way I do about Akane. I want to marry her. Only her. There is no one else for me." Shampoo heard the words. They hit her like a million poisoned darts. "So I can never win? I have to face shame in my village?" She started crying again. "No!" a voice said. A handsome young man swooped in through the hole Shampoo made and grabbed a nearby girl. Holding her tightly in her arms, he said "no Shampoo! You don't have to face shame if you marry me!!" Genma tapped him on the shoulder and said, "I think you want this one, sonny." He held Shampoo in front of him and the young man took out his very large glasses and saw his error. "My mistake!" He dropped the girl he was holding, and embraced Shampoo. "Shampoo! You must marry me!" "Mousse! I can't! Not until I lose!! I still have a chance!!" "No you don't." The entire room filled with people said. "Shampoo, listen, its not that bad. You have to let it go. The man's obviously not about to drop the love of his life for you." Ukyo said. "What do you know?!" Shampoo said, and stormed out of the house. Mousse chased after her yelling something in Chinese. A moment later Shampoo yelled something in Chinese, and Mousse came flying back into the house. "Tough luck." One of the boys said. "I will marry her if it's the last thing I do!" He shouted. "Good for you, man. Don't give up!" the boy said. Mousse left a little while later, and some of the partiers started saying their good byes. Everyone else left within the next half hour with the exception of Ryoga, Ukyo, and Doctor Tofu. Ukyo and Ryoga were hitting it off nicely, and Ranma and Akane were happy for them. Everyone already knew that the good doctor was quite taken with Kasumi, and they also knew she was quite taken with him. The most important thing, however, was did they know how the other felt? "Sooner or later." Akane told Ranma and let out o big yawn. "Gosh I'm tired. Its late, we should get some sleep if we're going to be up early for our trip." Ranma agreed and they bid everyone a good night. "Well, I should be leaving now." Ukyo said. "Wait, I'll walk you home." Ryoga said. "Really? Well won't you get lost on your way back?" She looked concerned. "I'll figure that out. I don't want you walking home alone this late. There may be some villainous characters out there who might try and take advantage of you!" He said. "You don't have to go that far. If you want to walk me home, just say it. I don't need silly excuses." Ryoga blushed. Ukyo grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

Ranma walked Akane to her room and gave her a kiss goodnight. She pulled him back as he began to pull away. She let go a moment later and said "Thank you, for tonight, for everything." He smiled and uttered a soft "its true, I love you too much to ever let you go." He kissed her again and then went back to his own room, obeying his father's rule. She watched him and really liked how he looked in those pants. She turned and went into her room for a good night's sleep.

Downstairs, doctor Tofu wished everyone a good evening, and left. Kasumi followed him out and wished him a good evening separately from the rest of the family. A minute later, she reentered the house blushing. Nabiki tortured her for it, but she didn't much care. She was really happy about this recent development with the doctor. She smiled and bid everyone good night too. The rest of them decided to go to sleep and leave the cleaning for the morning.


	8. Trip Time!

A.N.: hey faithful readers! I apologize for not posting in a while.... But that goes to show I have a life! But anyways! This is a part of my life too, so there ya go! I believe Ranma meets his mom in this chapter and if not then whoops! But I'm pretty sure its this one... about this whole situation, when I wrote this I didn't know about the whole seppoku thing, so ofcourse you wont read anything about it. I changed a few things up a bit, but change is good!! Please enjoy and review!! I love to know what you're all thinking.... Oh yeah! If you get a chance, please do a little clicking and under my name Shiichan921 you'll find my new fic called Trapped in the future—it's an inuyasha fic, and I want to shout it out! Try it out!! Thanx so much!! --CJD

Disclaimer: This story is 100 mine, but the characters and curses belong to Rumiko!

Chapter 8: Trip Time!

"Ranma...Ranma...its time to wake up." Her voice was soft. She had snuck into his room, and didn't want to wake Genma up, being that it was 4:30 in the morning. "Hm?" Ranma was stirring out of his peaceful sleep. "Hey, you." He smiled up at her and turned to look out the window. "What time is it?" He said with a yawn.

"It's 4:30 am. We have to get up and pack. I made some tea with caffeine in it." He rolled over so he was lying on his back looking at his beautiful, sleep ridden fiancée, who was kneeling over him. "You look just as tired as I feel...." He said. "Yeah. Would you like me to attempt breakfast?" She asked. "Hm...well how about some juice for now, and we can pack, and then we can both attempt breakfast. "Okay. She said and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his. She got back up and he smiled and said "Good morning." "Good morning." She said smiling back, and standing. He sat up and ran a hand over his face and through his hair. Akane smiled once more, and left to pack.

A half hour later, they were showered, dressed and in the kitchen making an attempt at breakfast. Akane was in charge of the eggs in the dish, which ended up getting a little burnt, and Ranma was in charge of the toast, which they couldn't eat it was so black. They were smiling and joking about their failed attempts at breakfast when the light switched on, and a voice said, "I thought I smelled something burning."

Akane and Ranma looked up. They were really surprised at who they saw in the doorway. Maybe they were blinded by tiredness, but the figure spoke again. You guys are up a little early, eh?" "U-Ucchan?" Ranma asked blinking. "What in the world are you doing here? And at this time of the morning?" He asked in shock. "Um, that's my fault." Ryoga said now entering the kitchen. "Well, it's all because of my sense of direction. Ukyo didn't want me to get lost on my way over, so she walked me home." He said. "Ukyo walked you home at 5 O'clock in the morning?" Akane asked. "Yes. And that's all you'll hear from us." She walked over and started making breakfast. "You look like you two can use a little help." She took the plate of burnt eggs from Akane and dumped it into the trash. "I'll make something. Why are you two up so early anyway?" She said putting some eggs in the pan. "Oh, we're taking a trip. And that's all you'll hear from us!" Ranma said in a playful voice. "Yeah, I don't even know where to. Ran's in charge." Akane said. "Oh really?" Ukyo said raising an eyebrow. "Well it looks like great weather, have a nice time!" She said, serving the perfect scrambled eggs. Ranma and Akane quickly ate their breakfast, bid Ryoga and Ukyo good-bye, picked up their bags, and left.

"So, Ukyo, about last night," Ryoga started. "Yeah, I know, me too." She smiled and reached across the table to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Good morning you two. Wow you guys are up early. Ukyo, what brings you here?" Kasumi said. "Oh, I stopped by to make Ryoga some breakfast." "Well, this is a surprise, and at 5:30 in the morning...I would love to be that young and energetic again." She sighed and went about the kitchen preparing breakfast. "Oh, Kasumi, Ranma and Akane went on a trip, they just left a little while ago." Ryoga said. "Really? Where to? How long will they be gone?" She asked, surprised they didn't tell her sooner. "Well, Ranma was going to take her up to the mountains somewhere, he said they'd be gone for most of the week. That's all I know." Ryoga said.

She nodded and went back to breakfast. And then she turned around wanting to know details on what she walked in on. "So you two are an item?" She asked.

Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane were walking through the empty town. It was dawn. The sunrise looked beautiful, and the town was nice and peaceful without all of the hustle and bustle. Ranma took hold of Akane's hand and said, "You're really going to like where I'm taking you." "I think I'm going to like anywhere with you, Ran." She said.

The pair continued walking until lunch. They were on a path, leading up the mountains. "Lunchtime." Akane said. She was in good shape, but walking all morning had taken a bit out of her. She unpacked some food, and they ate. A little while later, their journey continued and they discussed many things. They talked about the possibilities of Ryoga and Ukyo, and Kasumi and Doctor Tofu, and many other things. It was nice, and Ranma kept a tight hold on Akane's hand the whole way. When it got dark, they decided to make a camp, eat dinner and go to sleep so they could get an early start in the morning.

In the middle of the night, the wind picked up a bit, and Ranma woke up, hearing Akane chattering. They were sleeping in sleeping bags next to each other. Ranma got up, opened his sleeping bag, got into Akane's sleeping bag, and pulled his over them. She really was freezing. He held her close to his body in an attempt to warm her up. After a few minutes, when her shivering stopped, he stopped worrying and fell asleep.

Akane began stirring at dawn. She realized that Ranma was holding her in his arms, an that he must have heard her chattering last night. Akane's moving woke Ranma up as well. He hugged her tighter, and said "you were really cold last night, so I kept you warm." "Mm, thank you. You are so nice to wake up to." She said. He smiled. "I wish we could lay here, together for a while longer, but we have to get to where we're going. I think at this rate, we'll get there a little after lunch, which is perfect." They got up and made some breakfast.

By the time they started hiking again, the sun was above the horizon. Unfortunately, they had to cross a stream. "Oh, I hate this damn curse!" Ran-Chan shouted. Akane said "We can boil some water when we stop for lunch. Its okay." She smiled. Ran-Chan stopped the tantrum, and relaxed. "It's been a while since I last transformed." She sighed. "Well, that's because it hasn't rained and you've been careful." They continued hiking until lunch. Akane had some water from the stream, and Ranma started a fire in order to boil it. Once he was back to normal again, they ate, and set off. "Hm..." Ranma said stopping about fifteen minutes after they set off. "What?" Akane asked. "Oh, um nothing. This way." He said. He led her through the forest until they reached a dirt road. "We're almost there." He said with a smile. "Okay, now don't feel nervous one bit. Everything's fine because we're together." "Ran, what is this? You are making me nervous." "It's fine! We'll have a great time!" He said. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and pulled her up the dirt road.

At the top of the hill, they saw a village. "Ran, where are we?" Akane asked. "You'll find out soon enough." He said. They walked through the village, getting strange looks from the villagers. Akane looked up and saw Ranma had a nice smile on his face. A peaceful smile. The village ended, and they still walked up another path. This path wound up the mountain a bit more, but they reached an area with some houses. They continued to walk, and Ranma spotted a woman sweeping in front of the last house. His heart skipped a beat and he squeezed Akane's hand again. "Ranma are you alright?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm great." He said. He pulled her and started walking faster. They were about fifteen feet away from the woman when she looked up. She looked at the young man and woman standing in front of her. She squinted a bit at Ranma, who was smiling. "R-Ranma?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes. He let Akane's hand and dropped his backpack, and ran to her. "Mom!" He said, taking his mother in a tight hug. "Oh, Ranma!!" She was crying, and holding him tightly. Akane's eyes started filling up with tears as she realized why he brought her here. She was so happy he wanted her to meet his mom. He was proud to introduce her to the most important woman in his life. She felt so honored to be in love with him, to be his fiancée.

"Let me look at you." She said, as he let go, finally. She took his face in her hands and looked at him, studying him. Her eyes filled with tears again. "My boy! You've grown up so much! Its been such a long time!" He hugged her again. "I've missed you, mom." He let go again and his mother said, "Well, you are here, and you brought a young lady. Lets see now. Ah! You are Akane Tendo, I presume?" She asked, addressing Akane. Akane smiled and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Yes, I am." She smiled. Ranma took her hand and brought her closer. "This is Akane, my fiancée." He said. Presenting her to his mother. "Its very nice to meet you." Akane said, bowing. She now began to feel nervous. Mrs. Saotome's eyes filled with tears again and she took Akane into her arms, hugging her tightly.


	9. Not Yet

A.N.: hey guys, I hope you enjoy the story so far, everything's been a little hectic right now, so I've kind of increased the interval between postings... sorry about that, but such is life! Hey—here's some cool news of my life! I've been elected president of my anime club, or the better name—the Otaku Society. That's really cool, but it's a little demanding. But I wouldn't give it up for anything!! I like how this story is going, and hopefully I'll get some good ideas to write more from the point where I am. Please r & r!!! I love reviews!! Thanks for the support so far!! CJD

Disclaimer: this story is 100 mine but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko Takahashi!!

Chapter 9: Not Yet

"Akane, You've grown up so much since I last saw you!" Mrs. Saotome said, looking at Akane. "Really? I don't remember that." She said. "Oh yes, the last time I saw you and your family was at your mother's funeral." Mrs. Saotome said, with a sad expression. "Oh, that was so long ago, I don't remember much of it." Akane said. "Well, you've become a beautiful young woman." Mrs. Saotome said with a smile. "How is your family?" She asked. "They are very well. My father and Genma are very good friends and do many things together." She smiled. "Oh really? I hope my husband and son haven't been causing too much trouble!" "Oh, no! Actually, I think my father is quite happy having Genma around, it's like all loneliness has disappeared!" She smiled. And Ran...look at you! You look so good!! I haven't seen you in so long, it's so nice! What a lovely surprise!" "Yes, what a lovely surprise indeed, I didn't know he was taking me here." They looked at Ranma. "Well, you two had to meet sometime!" "Well, you two must have had to take a long trip to get here. Come inside." She grabbed both of them and pulled them inside the house.

Mrs. Saotome went into the kitchen, fixing a kettle for tea. Ranma and Akane stood in the entranceway, taking in the house. Ranma hadn't seen it for ten years, nor had he seen his mother. She was so happy to see them. "Akane, this is my house." He said, pulling her in. He kept his hold on her hand when his mother said "Come on in, you two must be very exhausted from your trip. Please, sit somewhere comfortable." "Okay, we'll be on the couch, then!" Ranma called and led Akane into the living room, with a gigantic, comfortable couch in it. They had dropped their bags in the doorway, and Ranma plopped down on the couch, pulling Akane down next to him. She fell with the force of his pull very close to him, and crashed into his hip with hers. "Oops, sorry. Are you okay?" She asked nervously, moving away a little bit. He grabbed her, not allowing her to move away. "No ya don't, I pulled ya close for a reason." He wrapped his arms around her. "So, whaddya think? Are you surprised?" He asked. "Do you even have to ask? Of course! But it's such a nice surprise! I'm as happy to be here as you are!" She had started falling on Ranma's chest because he was holding her so tight. "Ah, I'm falling!" She said, and fell completely onto his chest. Her back lay on his chest. His arms held their position wrapped around her abdomen. Her head fell lightly onto his shoulder. "It's a really nice surprise, Ran. Thank you so much for doing this." she smiled. He leaned his head down and placed a light kiss on her lips. "Yes, I agree with Akane, Ran. It's a lovely surprise." Said Mrs. Saotome from the doorway. She was holding a tray with a few cups and a teapot on it. The two of them straightened up as she entered the room.

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt, I just thought you two might be thirsty." She smiled and placed the tray on the coffee table. "Ack, no, please don't apologize to me. I'm sorry. Thank you, were are thirsty." Ranma said, not wanting to make his mother feel more uncomfortable than she probably already was. "Oh, its alright! Ranma, you always were the troublemaker. Akane, you watch out for this one. He's a trouble maker, and he'll get you into all sorts of it." She smirked. "Oh, really?" She said raising an eyebrow to the innocent look he put on his face. "I don't know, she says you're trouble, and she knows you better than I do! I think I should listen to her." She said and scooted away from Ranma on the couch. "Oh no!" He exclaimed. He grabbed her and she let out a laugh. "Ah! You see? Trouble!!" "No! Don't leave me! Don't leave me!" He said in a terrible, pleading voice. "Alright, alright! Fine! I'll stay on one condition!" She said holding up a finger. "Anything!" he said. "You have to behave while we are here, and I don't want you bringing any unneeded stress on your mother's shoulders!" She said. "Deal!" Ranma exclaimed.

"My dear Akane, if I was you, I think I would have used that condition more to my advantage, like make him do something funny and embarrassing!!" She chuckled, sipping her tea. "Ha ha! But you already set the rules, and we agreed! So nothing embarrassing for me! Hey, mom, you shouldn't give her those ideas! Now who's trouble?" He said.

"I guess you're right. Hm...you two are in love, aren't you?" She asked, getting more serious. "Yes, we are." Ranma said, also getting more serious. "Details! Give me details! Tell me about it-tell me everything—from the moment you met up to now." She said. "Well, its kind of a long story." Ranma said. "We met after dad and I finished our training in China. We had just gotten to the Tendo training hall. And that was when I found out I had been betrothed to one of the three Tendo daughters. They chose Akane because we were the same age, and I think it was because she had a knack for the martial arts." He said. "Yeah, my oldest sister is quite the home maker, but her eyes are set on another, and my other sister, well, she's a bit crazy. We'll leave it at that." She said. "That was a while ago, I think a little over a year." Ranma said. "Oh yes, I was worried at first, being engaged to someone I had only just met, and barely knew, but I have to say, it was handy at school. One of the boys told all the others that if they wanted a date with me, they had to beat me in a fight. When they found out I was engaged, they all backed down."

"Yeah, plus getting into a fight with Kuno the first day wasn't any help." Ranma said. "He still believes he has a chance. I never would have gone out with _any_ of those boys, _especially_ Kuno." Akane said. "I never liked boys. I never wanted anything to do with them. I couldn't trust any of them. And then I met Ranma. I didn't want to admit to myself that I liked him. He was a troublemaker, but he always had good intentions, and he felt as trapped in the engagement as I did. But we got used to it I guess, and grew to acknowledge it." "But in our hearts, we really grew to love each other, even though we didn't say so on the outside. And then, there was Shampoo, Kodachi, Kuno, Ryoga, Ukyo, and so many other people who were in our way." "Yes!" Akane said in agreement. "Shampoo is an Amazon warrior, whom Ranma beat, and in her village, if you are beaten by a man, you have to marry him, so she's still after him; Kodachi is Kuno's sister. She tries to blackmail Ranma into loving her all the time." Akane said. Ranma continued. "Get this, Ukyo wants to marry me because dad arranged it in order to steal her dad's okonomiyaki cart, when we were like five!" Mrs. Saotome's eyes widened. "And then there are the men who are after me. Kuno still thinks I'm up for grabs. And, wait a sec, Ranma, why did you say Ryoga?" she asked him. "Oh, well, um, we were uh- did I really say Ryoga? What about that date?! You might not have thought anything of it, but he certainly did!" "Oh, come on Ranma. That was a setup that Ukyo planned in order to have you on a date too! Besides! I didn't know it was a date! I thought it was a challenge." Yeah well when you found out it wasn't you still agreed!" "Oh you are just as guilty as I am!"

"Enough bickering! Get on with the story!" Mrs. Saotome said. They came back to their senses, and Akane continued. "Well, there have been many people who try to tear us apart. Hopefully that'll be over soon." "Yeah, Ukyo and Ryoga moved on already. We told Shampoo, and her fiancé was overjoyed. "Kuno and his sister know, so there are probably a few others." Ranma said. "Gosh, I can't believe how many people tried to tear us apart." "Yeah, but we showed 'em!" "Yeah, and it was just very recent that we told each other how we really felt. It was a major relief knowing that we felt the same. I can't believe we were in love for so long and we didn't even know it!" "It's a little foolish, huh? Always acting like we hated each other! After a while, it hurt when I said those horrible things to you." "Yeah, I hated saying that stuff, but if not, my dad would start freaking out, and he would get your dad all worked up too." Akane said. "And then, we were rained on with their tears! How embarrassing. Two grown men, Martial Arts masters! Crying over us. But when we told them, they said they already knew—weird." "And they didn't even cry-at first." Akane said. "We sure surprised everyone else though!" Ranma said.

Ranma and Akane sat there for the next hour, telling Mrs. Saotome everything, leaving out the details about the curse. For some reason, he didn't want to tell her. Not yet. During the story telling and the catching up, Akane and Ranma grew more comfortable on the couch together. He put one arm around her shoulder, and held her hand in the other. She began leaning on him more. Mrs. Saotome sat listening, her expression changing with the story. She answered some questions they asked, and they answered questions she asked. They filled her in on every single detail (minus the curse) including the party.

"Oh yeah. We've decided on a date. The wedding is going to be two months from Saturday actually, last Saturday, so it's in seven and a half weeks!" Ranma said. "I would love nothing more than to have you there, mom!" He said. "Oh, well, I did have something planned for that weekend. I have very important plans, and I can't miss them." She said. "What's more important than your only son's wedding?!" Akane blurted out. "Oh dear, you see, its something very important that's taking place then. A once in a lifetime event. You see, I'm going to be somewhere. Somewhere very important. I'll be fulfilling a duty I have to someone very special to me, to someone I love very much. I'm going to be with my family, making sure my only son and the girl he loves have the best damn wedding anyone's ever seen!" They all jumped up and hugged. "Mrs. Saotome, please come back to the house with us! We would all be so honored!" Akane asked. "Yeah mom! Come back with us! Dad hasn't seen you in so long. And you can meet everyone! You can meet Ryoga and Ukyo, and-everyone!" he said smiling. "okay, Ran. I'll go with you, but you two have to help me get there, and you have to help me get the house ready. If I'm going to be gone for a few months, then I should get everything perishable out of here, and ask one of the neighbors to house sit for me. But first things first! It's almost dinnertime! Now Akane, excuse me if I am at all rude, but you don't look like you have too much talent in the kitchen." She said. "Wow, that's amazing! You're right! I don't have any talent with food! How could you tell?" She asked. "Well, I expected that any girl Ranma fell in love with would be a martial artist. Naturally, martial artists have limited capabilities in the kitchen. No need to worry, though. I will have you making the finest of meals in no time!" She said triumphantly. "Now, Ranma, you go shower and nap. In an hour, you can taste a masterpiece made by your soon-to-be wife. Go, go. Get some rest, and we'll see you later!" She pushed her son in the direction of the bathroom/his room. "He waved on his way out and shouted, "Have fun!"

Getting to the bathroom and turning on the shower, he accidentally put his hand under the water while it was still cold. "Damn!" He said. "I'll have to tell her sometime..." he said, changing back when he stood under the hot water. "But, not yet."


	10. Cooking Lessons

A.N.: hey readers! Happy thanksgiving! I was cooking and cleaning and eating all day yesterday, so I wasn't able to post.(I also had to wait until the website was functional again), Please read and review! And I hope you like this chapter! It reaches further into the fiction part of the fanfiction I guess, being that this sort of stuff didn't really happen… only in my head! I don't know if I should lower the rating, or atleast until I add a lemon or something… well, actually, that might happen… I mean after everything that's all full of drama…. B/c I've got drama coming. Please stick with the story! Thanks a lot! --CJD

Disclaimer: this story is all mine, but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko!!

Chapter 10: Cooking Lessons

"Now Akane, cooking isn't too hard. You just need some practice, and some good taste buds. And no worries! You'll have tons of practice with this dish-its Ran's favorite!" She said with excitement. "you make it sound so easy, Mrs. Saotome!" "That's because it is, and please call me Mom." "Okay, Mom." She said, looking a little sad. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. Its just that seeing you two like this, it is very surprising, and I'm forgetting my place a little bit. I could never take your mother's place." She said, taking Akane into a big hug. "No, its ok, really. I hardly remember her. She died so long ago. Did you know her?" She asked. "Well, Genma and I have always been great friends of your parents. Yes. She was a wonderful woman. It's such a tragedy what happened to her. Leaving such beautiful daughters behind, but look how nicely you've turned out. I must say, I was a bit worried at first. I even offered to help raise you and you sisters, but your father refused. Somehow he knew he could manage, and he did! Its very comforting to see that. He loved your mother very much, and you can see how his love spread." She gave Akane another hug. "Thank you." "No, Thank _you_ for being so wonderful to my son. He truly did fall in love with the right person." She smiled. "yeah, so did I."

The cooking lesson continued, and the two were chatting for an hour, while preparing Ranma's favorite dinner. "That's not half bad." Mrs. Saotome said, tasting one of the dishes Akane was in charge of. "Really?" Akane was amazed that she didn't burn it. Ranma would be so proud of her. "Alright, I'll set the table, you go wake Ran up, and tell him to be amazed at your new found skills!" she said. Akane nodded and went in search of Ranma's room.

The house was very large so it took a few minutes. She finally opened the door and saw his half naked form asleep on the bed. It was a small bed, for when he was a child, but he slept in it anyway. It was his bed, and his room, filled with little toys and things having to do with the martial arts. Akane walked in and admired her fiancé, sleeping peacefully. He was holding his pillow, and was partially covered by the blanket. Akane could see his boxers, which was the only piece of clothing he was wearing. She approached the bed and sat down on the edge. She started rubbing his back. "Ranma…Ranma…its time for dinner…" she said in a calm voice. He must have been more exhausted than he led on. He rolled over a little and said, "Let me sleep a little more mom…just a half hour…" "Ranma…I'm not your mom. Open your eyes sleepy head!" she said with a chuckle. "Wha?" Ranma said groggily, opening his eyes. "Huh? Akane…was I saying weird things? I'm sorry I was really tired." He said sitting up. He saw that she was wearing an apron and said, "so you were making dinner with my mom?" "Yeah, _mom_ and I were making your favorite dinner." She said. "_Mom_?" He asked, and placed a light kiss on her lips. "Yeah, she wants me to call her mom. I mean she sort of is now." He took her in his arms. "You don't have to do that if you don't want to. I don't want her to replace your mom." "No one can replace my mom. Besides, I want to say it. It sounds cool." She said. "Uh-cool?" "Yeah! Oh whatever! Just get dressed and come down for dinner!" She said getting up and tossing him his shirt and pants. He dressed and followed Akane downstairs. He saw the food that was on the table and said, "Akane, you made some of this? You mean you actually made something without burning it?" He was shocked. "Yeah, and it's pretty good! Your mom ate some of it and is living to tell the tale!" Mrs. Saotome smiled, making Ranma smile. "Akane! You can cook! Hooray!! This is so exciting. I want to eat it all!" He sat and started piling tons of food onto his plate, and then shoving it into his mouth. He was acting a little bit like an animal, but didn't care because it was his favorite dinner, which was made by the two women who loved him the most in his life.

A little while later he couldn't eat anymore and gave many compliments on how good it was. Akane was so happy he ate so much. Of course she was worried something was wrong with it, but Mrs. Saotome had been helping her, so it was all right to eat.

"Ah! Thank you so much, to the two women I love the most! This meal was delicious!" He said. They both smiled and blushed at the compliment, and started clearing the table. "Please, I slept all afternoon, let me help with some chores." He said getting up and taking some plates out of Akane's hands. "Yeah, Akane I bet you're dying for a shower. Go relax, Ranma and I can handle the dishes!" Akane followed the orders. "Oh, um, where is the bathroom?" She asked. "I'll take you, be right back" Ranma put the plates down and took Akane's hand, leading her to the humongous bathroom. "Here you go, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask." "Alright, thanks." Ranma left to help with the dishes again.

He reentered the kitchen and started washing dishes, making sure the water was hot before putting his hands under it. "Ranma I'm so happy for you. It's a mother's dream for her son to have such a wonderful girl. You two are so perfect for each other. I'm so proud of you!" She said. "I'm really happy you approve. I was worried you wouldn't. I mean it's been so long since I saw you, and I'm returning home, all grown up and with my fiancée, I was worried you would be too shocked to like her." He said. "Ranma, its so nice that you came. You have grown up but you're still my son. And how can I not like Akane? She's a wonderful girl. She's really grown up too. The last time I saw her, she was such a tomboy! But now, she's a beautiful young woman, about to be married, and she wanted to learn to cook so she could please you!"

"Well, I am very pleased. I can't believe she could love someone like me, I'm the lucky one."

"Ha ha! You two say the same things! She was amazed you loved her, too, but she loves you so much. And you are quite a catch, if I do say so myself." She chuckled. "Well, there was one thing I noticed though." She said. Ranma started to worry, there couldn't possibly be something wrong with Akane, could there be? "What?" He asked, wanting to know. "Well, its something small and insignificant, but I have come up with the perfect solution!" "What is it already?!" he said, a little anxious. "Well, she was sipping her tea this afternoon, and I noticed it. Ranma, you haven't given her an engagement ring!" "Oh, That. That's part of the reason I brought her. I brought her, so I could introduce you two, and so I could give her an engagement ring. I wanted to ask your opinion on the matter though, because jewelry is not one of my strong points." "All right, the dishes can wait. Come with me, I have the perfect thing." She turned the water off and pulled Ranma out of the kitchen and up to her room. "Mom, what's the perfect thing?" "Just follow me and I'll show you!" she said, getting a girlish attitude and pulling her son over to her closet. "Here it is!" She said, pulling out an old dusty box. She opened it and pulled an even smaller box out of it. "This belonged to your grand mother. It would be such an honor for me to see it on your fiancée's hand." She said, and started crying tears of joy and sadness. Ranma took the box and opened it.

"Whoa! Oh my goodness… this ring is gorgeous!" He said. "Mom, I can't take this from you." "Don't be silly! I want you to give it to Akane. She deserves it, for all of the love she has for you." She told Ranma and gave him a stern look. "Are you sure?" He asked, still not believing this. "Yes! Of course I'm sure! Now if you don't take this ring, I'm going to- to- just takes it!" She said, trying to sound threatening, but to no avail.

"Alright. I will. Thank you so much, mom. This is so wonderful! Akane's going to die of shock." He smiled and hugged his mother. "Well, it's the least I can do, for not being there to watch you grow up for all of these years." She said.

The two sat talking for another half hour, catching up. Ranma told her about his younger years, his fear of cats, and other interesting stories. Every once and a while, Mrs. Saotome would laugh or add something, but she mostly sat admiring her son. He might have grown up on the outside, but she could still she the child in which she knew, so many years ago.


	11. Offically Official

A.N.: Hey readers, sorry I haven't posted in a while…I've been side tracked as I'm always saying… there's the holidays and then the conflict of reading things instead of writing, but its good that I read great things because I get ideas for my stories… believe me, I have a lot of stories in the works. There's the orignal fics… like 3 and the fan fics, like 5… it's a lot, but I hope I get sympathy… being that I'm so overloaded with work… I don't want to prolong this chapter anymore, because it's a very good chapter! Go go go!! Yay! Okay-get to reading!

Disclaimer: This story is 100 mine, but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko T.!!!

Chapter 11: Officially Official

An hour had passed since they had gone up to her room for the ring. Ranma figured Akane would be out of the bath by now, and figured he'd check on her to see if she needed anything. He left with the ring in the little box, and put it in his pocket. The bathroom was empty when he passed it, so he went to search his room for his fiancée. She wasn't there, but there were signs that she had been in there to get dressed. Ranma went to search the rest of the house.

She was nowhere to be found, until he looked out of the window. She was in the backyard, looking up at the stars. Ranma went out to join her. It was such a perfect night. The stars were bright, and the city was visible because the house was on a mountain.

He walked outside and stood, watching her. She was so peaceful, staring up into the night sky, sitting on the stonewall that passed through the yard. Ranma went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, feeling her jump. She realized who it was, and leaned back, turning for a kiss. He caught her lips in a soft, sweet kiss, and then moved to sit next to her.

"You found me." She smiled. "I found you, and I'm never ever letting go! You can't escape!" He said joking. "Feel good after your bath?" Ranma asked, feeling her hair a little wet against his neck. "Yeah, did you have fun catching up with your mom?" Akane asked.

"Yes. Its nice seeing her again." He said, kissing Akane's forehead. She moved and wrapped her arms around him. "Akane, I have something for you." She looked up. "Something for me? What more do I need? I'm so happy with everything you've given me." "Yeah, but there's just one more thing okay?" He smiled with excitement, and took her left hand. "Okay." She said, now getting excited too.

"Close your eyes, it's a surprise." He said. She did as she was told and shut her eyes. Ranma reached into his pocket and pulled out the box. He stood and moved to be in front of her, not letting go of her hand. "Now keep your eyes closed." He said. She nodded and he continued.

He opened the box with one hand and pulled out the ring. "Akane Tendo, I love you and need you more than anything in the world. It is my greatest honor to be your fiancé, and I would be so proud and honored if you would wear my grandmother's engagement ring." He said, kissing her lips and putting the ring on her finger.

He could feel her gasp in surprise. Her eyes popped open and she smiled into his lips. Ranma let go and wiped a tear off of her cheek. She smiled and brought her hand up to her face to look at the ring.

"Are you serious? Oh my god Ranma! I'm speechless! The only thing I can say is how much I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and their lips connected again in a flurry of passion.

The two sat under the stars, holding each other, until it was too cold. They went inside and figured they'd get some sleep. Mrs. Saotome figured Ranma wouldn't want Akane sleeping in a guest room. He'd want her with him, so she didn't bother setting up any of the guest rooms.

They came inside and bid her good night. She noticed the ring on Akane's finger and smiled.

Once they got to his room, he grabbed her and they fell back onto his bed laughing. Akane turned around so they were facing each other. She felt so safe in her lover's arms. Everything was perfect, and there was nothing she could have asked for, because she had it all.

"Can we leave here the day after tomorrow Ran?" She asked, bring Ranma out of his own dream world. "No duh! I want to stay here for another day. I want to stay with you. You are my sunshine, my life, my everything." He laid his head on her shoulder and took in her sweet smell. "This is so nice. I'm still so amazed everything went so fast, but so slow too." Akane said. "Yeah, me either. But I'm really glad everything happened the way it did, or else we wouldn't have know that we really loved each other." Ranma said kissing the closest part of her he could find. "I could never love anyone but you, and I am so happy to have you Ranma." Akane whispered. "Are you kidding? I want more than anything to have you as my wife. I want you by my side everyday. I want to kiss you all the time. I want you to bear my children. I want to show everyone they were wrong about us. I love you so much I can't express it. It's-" He was cut off by Akane's lips on his.

"You know, you're going to have to stop saying all of this stuff. You're making me so happy and so…" she kissed him again. "What?" "You're making me love you a million times more!" She laughed and cuddled up against his muscular body. Ranma was protective and loving at the same time by the way he was holding her, and they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	12. A Day With Mom and A Journey Home

A.N.: Hey readers! Here starts the drama…. Yay! Well, yay for me, uh oh for you… but no worries, it'll all work out in the end… haha I just counted the number of kisses between the two main characters in my favorite story… over 7 books, they shared 31 kisses total! Wow! But it's my favorite, because it's a rally really good love story! If you want to know what it is, email me, and I'll tell you… I don't want to say it on the chapter post, because it isn't a rumiko story… ok happy reading and don't forget to review! Thanx!

Disclaimer: This story is 100 mine, but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko T.!

Chapter 12: A Day With Mom And a Journey Home

The next morning they woke to the sweet smells of breakfast being served. Mrs. Saotome had cooked up a storm, and was smiling sweetly as Ranma and Akane stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning you two!" She smiled and handed them some orange juice. They were both so sleepy, and drank the juice down in an attempt to wake up. Ranma only hoped his mother wasn't going to do the thing she used to in order to wake him up in the mornings. She did. She used to take a kitchen towel and drench it with ice-cold water and hit him in the face with it. Smack! it swung around, and before he could dodge it, the cold, wet towel hit him in the face.

"Oh no!" Akane whispered as she saw her fiancé become her fiancée.

"Wake up Ranma dear!" Mrs. Saotome said as the towel hit his sleepy head. "Oh thanks mom, I'm awake now…" Ranma-Chan said, grabbing a dry towel and drying her face. "R-Ranma?" "Yeah-something that happened to dad and me when we were training before we showed up at Akane's house. We're cursed. When hit with cold water, we transform into whatever drowned in the cursed spring we fell into. I'm a girl and dad's a panda. It's the most annoying thing in the world! I wish I could go find a cure." She said, taking the pot for tea from the stove and pouring some of the contents on her head, thus becoming a man again. "What? I don't believe it!" She said amazed at the transformation. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out like this." Ranma said, fearing his mother would think less of him.

"Wait a second. So you turn into a girl when you're hit with cold water?" He nodded. "So your father turns into a panda?" She asked, taking it better than Ranma expected. "Yeah. Our friend Shampoo turns into a cat, and her fiancé turns into a duck. There's one more that I know of, but he's not worth talking about." Ranma said, keeping his promise to Ryoga, and not telling Akane about

Chan.

"I see. That's interesting." Mrs. Saotome said. "What? That's it? That's all you have to say?" Both Ranma and Akane's mouths were open in shock.

"Yeah, it's you who'd have a problem with it I'd think." She said. "Really? You don't think less of me?" He asked, still not sure. "Why would I think less of you? You're still you at heart, just in a different body." She said.

"Yeah. I'm just happy you're not mad or upset!" Ranma said. It was true. The only reason he didn't tell her was because he thought she'd think less of him as a man. But now it was okay.

Everyone went along and had a peaceful breakfast and then set about doing housework. There were many things that needed to be done before the house would be left for a couple of months without a caretaker.

Ranma did all of the heavy lifting, Akane worked on throwing out all of the perishable items, and Mrs. Saotome went about doing whatever else. She told Akane to save a few things in order to make meals with. Akane did so, and double-checked when she was done to make sure she didn't miss anything.

Ranma was working on some things outside, some things inside, just things that required his strength or athletic ability.

By the afternoon, everyone was done with their chores, and they were able to relax. Ranma and Akane fell asleep together on the big comfortable couch in the living room. Mrs. Saotome figured she'd let them rest after a hard day's work, and started dinner.

An hour later Ranma and Akane woke up feeling refreshed to the delicious smells of dinner. They ate and cleaned up the dishes afterwards. Mrs. Saotome packed some clothes and turned in early for an early morning and long day ahead. Ranma and Akane went to sleep not to long after packing their own things.

There was an early breakfast, and all three left before dawn. They journeyed until meal times, with the occasional rest for Mrs. Saotome. She might not have been as young as she used to be, but she was still in very good shape.

They had already figured out the dilemma of three people and only two sleeping bags. Ranma and Akane didn't mind sharing at all. Ranma feared it would be too cold for his mother, but she waved it off and didn't want her son to worry. The night wasn't too cold. In fact, it was just right. Ranma and Akane snuggled comfortably in their sleeping bag, and Mrs. Saotome wasn't cold at all.

The next day was a peaceful hike back to town, and they got there earlier than planned. It was lunchtime when they arrived at Soun Tendo's house, and Kasumi was clearing the plates from the table when they entered.

"Hello! We're back! We brought a guest!" Akane shouted to the house. Everyone and a panda peeked their heads out of the door. Mrs. Saotome was greeted with warm welcomes, and she took the panda into as much of a hug she could. Everyone except Ranma, Akane and Mrs. Saotome didn't know she knew about Genma being a panda so they were a bit shocked.

The whole family sat at the table talking while the new arrivals ate lunch. Ryoga was amazed at the ring Akane was wearing, and became incredibly jealous, but thought nothing more of it. He switched his thoughts to another girl he was growing to love and wondering if he'd ever put a ring like that on her finger.

Ryoga was the first to duck out of the room. Ranma and Akane followed not too long after. They were tired and dirty from their trip, and decided to take a long relaxing bath together. Sleeping together for the past few nights was good, but unfortunately, it couldn't last forever. They'd be forced back to their separate rooms, but perhaps things would change with the arrival of Ranma's mother. Perhaps Ranma would be moved out of his father's room, his mother taking his place there. Where would he go? Hopefully Soun and Genma would make the right choice and put Ranma and Akane together.

Of course this didn't happen. Soun and Genma were smart and put Akane with Kasumi and Ryoga and Ranma took over Akane's room. No one in their right mind would ever give Nabiki a victim, so Akane moved in with Kasumi. They didn't mind, but they both hoped Ranma and Ryoga would get along together. Perhaps there was hope for them after all because they hadn't fought in a while. Ranma even asked Ryoga to be his best man. Maybe they were getting over their boyish competition and growing up.

Ranma and Akane were sad that Soun and Genma split them up, but there was only a slight chance that they'd be allowed together, so it wasn't a problem. It was a given that Ranma would get Akane's bed, but Ryoga didn't have a problem with it. He wasn't jealous anymore either.

Dinner was wonderful. Mrs. Saotome insisted on helping Kasumi in the kitchen, and they cooked up quite a storm. She complimented Kasumi on her home making skills, and asked her if she would be getting married soon. Kasumi blushed enormously, and Mrs. Saotome took it as a maybe. Ryoga went "out," during dinner, but he wasn't missed. He got back in time for dessert, and everyone was shocked to see him back so soon. Somehow, there was one place that his feet brought him to and he didn't get lost. Everyone turned in for the night after the celebration of the new guest.


	13. Life is Back to Normal Or is it?

A.N.: Hey readers! Sorry this chapter is a little short- here starts the drama. The next chapter is named one step forward, two steps back. Interesting eh? Yay! Just try to figure out what happens! You don't really know if everyone's okay even until I'd say about half way through that chapter. Wow I'd say they aren't. But no fatalities! Never. How could I kill one of the main characters! No! There has to be babies! Haha sorry—I'm always saying that! Whenever someone asks me for ideas for plot twists I always say babies! I'm so weird… yeah but I write some good stuff… Coolio! Happy reading! I hope to deliver the next chapter soon!

Disclaimer: This story is 100 mine, but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko T.!

Chapter 13: Life is Back to Normal… Or is it?

Golden week ended, and school began again. Ranma and Akane were too tired to wake up so early every morning, so they stuck to their old morning schedules. Ranma still woke up early to train, and Akane did a little bit of jogging. She and Ranma decided to train together in the dojo starting that afternoon.

School was normal, and everyone only talked a little bit about the engagement party that took place the previous week. Ranma and Akane got home at the usual time, and decided to get some training done before dinner. It was pretty fun. Akane got her training in, and Ranma got some exercise, but they most enjoyed laughing and being together. At the end of the session, Akane gave one last kick, and Ranma grabbed her ankle and made her trip so she'd land on his chest, leaving her vulnerable for hugs.

"Enough training for one day. I'm hungry! Let's go see if my mom made some snacks." Ranma said getting up and pulling Akane to her feet. It was certainly different having a mother figure in the house. Akane didn't really know how to act because she'd been without a mother for so long. She hesitated a little, and Ranma picked up on what made her uncomfortable.

"Hey, it's okay. She's not here to replace your mom Akane. No one can do that, and she's not trying to take over. She's just someone who you can trust. Someone who can give you advice your dad can't." Ranma held out his hand. Akane grabbed it and smiled. "Yeah, you're right. It's just so new, but it's not bad. I'm just not used to it."

Nodoka Saotome was in the kitchen washing dishes when her son entered. "Hey mom, do you have any snacks handy?" He asked. "You're done training? I thought you and Akane might be hungry so I did make some food. Here you go." She smiled the sweet smile and handed over a plate of dumplings. "You're a life saver!" Ranma called as he ran out of the kitchen.

He and Akane brought the food up to her room to eat while they did some homework. "Akane, how can you allow me to take your bed away from you? You're sleeping with Kasumi and I have your bed. That isn't right." He said. "I know, but you've been kicked out of you room, and me being with Kasumi is way better than being with Nabiki. Besides, I'd rather you sleep in my bed than anyone else." She said. "Well what about Ryoga? Don't you find it odd he's in here too? Doesn't that bother you?" He asked. "Well, he's got no where else to go. I think he'd prefer sleeping with you rather than my father." She said. "I guess." Ranma said. "Well, I don't mind, because I'm with you every other minute of the day." She said. "Yeah, I guess, as long as you don't have a problem…."

The week passed quickly, and in no time, the weekend arrived. Ranma and Akane had an after school routine, where they'd train for an hour after they got home. Afterwards they'd eat and relax while doing their homework. It was a simple routine, but they got used to it.

Saturday after noon was very relaxing. Ranma and Akane finished school and had a very peaceful walk home. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and everything was great. "I can't believe how great the weather's been." Akane pointed out. "Yeah, but it may rain soon." Ranma said, seeing a few clouds. "Oh well. What are we going to do tomorrow?" Akane asked. "I have no idea. My mom probably has something she wants us to do, who knows. I wouldn't be surprised if she's got all of the next two weeks planned. She's just the kind of person to do that sort of thing." He said frowning a little. "But is it important stuff? Do you think she's started planning the wedding?" Akane asked. "I have no doubts about it. It might be something we can get out of. Or it could be something fun. I guess if it's for the wedding we don't have to skip it. She is doing this for us, and marriage to the person you absolutely love is a once in a lifetime event." He said. "Yeah." Akane agreed.

When they got home they double-checked with Nodoka to see if in fact she had planned something, which she did. It was something that required both of them, but she wasn't going to give any details. She implied that it was going to be fun and exciting, but what a mother finds fun and exciting, might be very dull to her child. They hoped it would be fun though, because it was the weekend, and there hadn't been too much excitement for a while.

They agreed and left the room to go to the dojo and train. Apparently the clouds had moved in faster than expected, and thunder started up in unison with Akane's punches. The rain was really coming down after about ten minutes.

There was a very loud boom of thunder. It distracted Akane from her training. For some reason she sensed that something was wrong. She prayed that it was just fear, but with the next loud boom, the dojo started to creak. There were snapping sounds from all around them. Ranma took hold of Akane and held her close. "We should get out of here before this place come crashing down around us." He said. She could actually hear anxiety in his voice. He would never fear for himself, but he feared for Akane, for the woman he loved.

Everything happened so fast. The next boom of thunder did bring the roof of the dojo down. Ranma was quick, but not quick enough. Akane felt the cold rain on her hands and legs. She was lying, and Ranma was in a push-up position over her, protecting her from the fallen roof. "Ranma!" She shouted. He was struggling. They were trapped. She was crying.

"I love you, Akane. I'll always be here to protect you. We're okay." He tried to reassure her. "Ranma-" She was too shocked to say anything. The only thing she could think about was her protector. He was struggling. How much longer could he hold out? There was a piece of wood that fell from the broken roof above them. It hit Ranma in the head, knocking him out. Akane tried to move to help, but she soon passed out too.


	14. One Step Foward, Two Steps Back

A.N.: hey readers! Oh no! So much drama! And it continues… the roof was only the beginning… I had to put in some Ryoga—I couldn't leave him out! I like him as a character! So I figured he'd do what he could to save the day. So sorry for not posting in a million years… I've had a lot going on…my computer died! And I lost everything… everything! And right now I'm really disoriented from spending the day at six flags…I still don't know which way is up and which is down…my body has this feeling that gravity is pushing me downward at some odd angle… hopefully I'll return to normal soon…. Pls review…I wont make you wait this long again!

Disclaimer: This story is 100 mine, but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko T.!

Chapter 14: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

"Hey! Over here! We found 'em!" One of the firemen shouted. "Are they alive?" Another one asked. The first rescuer knelt down. "We need an ambulance!" He shouted.

Half an hour earlier…

Nodoka Saotome sat in the kitchen reading a cooking magazine, and figuring out what to make for dinner tonight. She made deal with Kasumi that they would alternate nights for making dinner.

She sat reading while her son and Akane were training in the dojo. The rain and thunder started and got progressively worse. She had sent her husband and Soun Tendo into town, because they would have been nagging her all day. She told them it was Saturday and they should go have some fun. With that, they sprinted down to the bar.

The thunder was really starting to bother her. There was something she felt in her chest. It was an ominous feeling, like something was about to go terribly wrong. Her woman's intuition was frighteningly good, so she became very worried. Just as she got up and started walked towards the dojo, she heard the loud crash and Akane's scream. Her fast walk turned into a sprint, and she ran to the dojo. She opened the door, and as soon as she saw what it looked like, she doubled back for the phone to call some help. The debris was too heavy for her to lift, and the other Tendo daughters were out. She was in a panic until the rescue team showed up.

"Please! My son and his fiancée are in there!" She shouted. She was frantic. The men hurried and spread out. They went about clearing the debris. It was only a matter of time before they found who they were looking for.

The present…

The rescue team moved to remove as much debris from the two as they could. They had to be quick, because there were still parts of the roof that endangered them. Once the debris was moved from on top of Ranma and Akane, the men grabbed the two girls and carefully pulled them up and out.

They were both unconscious. There were no life threatening injuries, but Ranma was bleeding from where he had been hit on the head. They both had cuts and bruises, but they were lucky it was only that.

The ambulance arrived and Ranma and Akane were taken to the hospital. The rescue men allowed Nodoka to ride along, but they advised her to leave a note saying where they were for Genma and Soun.

Ryoga was the first to see the note, and was quick to try and find everyone. He had seen the caved in roof, and wondered what happened. It didn't take him too long to reach the bar. He got a little lost, but many town members knew where it was and pointed him in the right direction. Soun and Genma were dead drunk. He had been using his umbrella, but Genma turned into the panda when he exited. It was a sight. Two men, one of them drunk, and a very drunk panda came running into the E.R. Ryoga was pushed out of the way when the male nurses pushed the panda out the door, and lost his grip on the umbrella. He fell into the puddles, being pounded on by the harsh cold rain, a little black pig.

He decided, little pig or not, he still had to tell Kasumi and Nabiki. He knew where he could run, so he went to Ukyo's restaurant and burst through the doors. "Ryoga?" She noticed him and scooped him into her arms before the patrons who were eating could notice. She doused him with hot water and gave him some clothes. While he dressed, he told her of what happened to Ranma. They left in a hurry, under an umbrella, and Ukyo told Ryoga that Akane's sisters could just read the note. The most important thing was that the fathers, drunk or panda, or not, were at the hospital.

Ukyo brought along another pot of hot water for Genma, and turned him human so he didn't have to sit out in the rain. They'd bring him in so he could be drunk inside, and not catch a cold.

A little while later they asked the nurse where Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo were. She responded, "Saotome, Saotome, Ah yes! Ranma and Akane Saotome are in room 321, upstairs." Both Ryoga and Ukyo were shocked that Akane was under the name Saotome, but they went upstairs to see them just the same.

"Mrs. Saotome!" Ryoga called. She looked up and was happy to see him. She was also very happy he was supporting a drunken Genma. She gave a motherly smile and thanked him for retrieving the men from the bar. She also greeted Ukyo with a warm smile.

"How are they? What happened?" Ryoga asked impatiently. "Well, They don't have any life threatening injuries. Just cuts and bruises, but Ranma's got quite a bump on the head. They say it's a concussion. Akane fainted and she's got a stress fracture in the wrist, but she's okay. They're both still unconscious." She said. "But how?" Ryoga asked.

"Well, I guess it was the storm. I don't know what it was. It just _happened_." She said. Ryoga went in with Ukyo. Nodoka was keeping an eye on the drunken men, so she couldn't sit in their hospital room. Akane had one bed, and Ranma had the other. He had been turned back into a man at the request of his mother. They were sleeping soundly. Both had bandages on their cuts, and Akane had her wrist wrapped up because of the fracture. It was still raining very hard. The thunder had subsided, but the rain was still coming down very hard.

A few minutes later, Akane started stirring, and Ukyo went to tell Nodoka and the fathers. "Hey, you gave us quite a scare." Ryoga said. "Oh my god what happened? Ranma!" She said, realizing she was in a hospital. "Its okay. Ranma's here." Ryoga said, pointing to the next bed. She saw her fiancé in the bed and quickly jumped out of hers. She anxiously looked down on his sleeping form. Ryoga was a bit taken aback by her quick movements. "Um Akane, wait, don't stress yourself. You've been through a great ordeal. Please try to calm down." He said.

"No. I'm fine, really. I want to know how Ranma is. Is he hurt? Is he okay? Tell me!" she was frantic and tears were in her eyes.

"Akane, honey, calm down now. There's nothing to worry about. Ranma's just got a bit of a concussion. He'll be fine." Mrs. Saotome put a hand on Akane's shoulder, which calmed her down a little. She didn't want to get back into bed, but she agreed to sit. Ryoga moved the chair next to Ranma's bed so Akane could sit there and hold his hand.

The doctor came in and checked the health of his patients. He released Akane, but she didn't leave Ranma. She was by his side, holding his hand. In time the rain let up, but it was still drizzling. The nurses were worried about her, but they realized the only thing that would make her feel better was being with Ranma, so they let her stay after visiting hours. Akane fell asleep with her head on the edge of Ranma's bed. She prayed he'd wake up soon.

Ranma woke on the third day. It was in the early morning. The sun was giving the room a little light. It was the normal amount of light that you would find in a room with the lights off- dull, but not dark.

He looked out of the shaded window until he realized someone was sitting next to his bed. He saw her, sleeping with her head resting on her bandaged wrist like it was a pillow. She looked so peaceful, but looked like she had lost sleep.

He lifted his head and it started throbbing. There was a big bump on the back of it, which he ran his hand over.

Akane woke to the sounds of Ranma's wincing. She looked up and saw him rubbing his head. "You're awake. I was so worried!" She smiled and yawned. "Yes I am awake. My head hurts. You look really tired. Um…" There was a weird blank look on his face, almost like he didn't recognize Akane, like he was smiling at her in politeness. "Ranma, are you feeling okay?" She asked. "Um yeah, I feel pretty good, a little achy, but okay. Um I'm sorry, but who are you?" He asked with a shy chuckle. He was flattered that a pretty girl was by his side, and was worried about him, but he was drawing a big blank when he tried to remember anything that happened before he woke up.

Akane was very alarmed at this. "Ranma, you don't know who I am?" She asked. "Well, yeah. I can't really remember- Um, anything."


	15. Introductions and Something Familiar

A.N.: hey readers! I hope you like how this is going. I do! I'm enjoying this. I am a bit confused though, because even though Ranma is Ranma, he's Ranma with out a memory, so it just makes him a person inside Ranma's body, so is he leeching off of Akane's love? Well maybe not, because subconsciously, he still is Ranma, and he loves her…AWW! Lovey dovey mushy hoochy coochy wub—with a w and a b. Not love—wub! Hee hee 3 . . ! I love those! Or I wub those! Okay I'll stop… I wub you readers/reviewers! So much wub! Ooh yeah—take a page from another chapter—hehe say babies! Hahahaha had to do that—wub and babies—I'm so weird… who even knows if I'm going to include babies in this story—maybe maybe maybe I'm really not sure—if you guys say you want babies, then I'll make babies—but be specific—ranma/akane, ryoga/ukyo, or kasumi/tofu.! Happy reading—no babies in this chapter hehehe…

Disclaimer: This story belongs to me—100 my craziness—but the characters and curse belong to R.T.

Chapter 15: Introductions and Something Familiar

"You don't remember anything?" She sounded more anxious as he thought she might, if she was someone who cared for him, or the person he was. "Everything's a blank. I don't remember anything. I only know my name because you called me Ranma." He said.

"So you really don't know who you are, where you come from, where you live, how old you are? Nothing?" She asked. "No. But you must know all of those things, right? Who are you?" He asked. Maybe learning something about someone who knew him could help him remember things about himself.

"I'm Akane Tendo. You are Ranma Saotome. We are seventeen years old. Our fathers trained together under the martial arts. You are also a martial artist." She said to start. She didn't want to scare him by telling him they were engaged. He nodded. "I'm Ranma- Saotome? Big name. I'm seventeen, and I'm a martial artist. And you are Akane Tendo. Got it." He nodded, trying to memorize it. Akane continued.

"You and your dad have been training together since you were very young. You two left your mom to go train around the country. You saw her for the first time in over ten years last week." He was listening and learning his life story from another person. It was an interesting one, and it was his, so he wanted to know everything.

"So how did we meet?" Ranma asked. She was very pretty, and very kind, so he wondered if he had any feelings for her. He didn't have to wonder because he knew he felt something for this girl, but he wondered if she knew he had feelings for her, and wondered if she had feelings for him in return. Ranma figured she must have, because why else would she sit at his bedside.

"We met a year ago. You and your dad are currently living with my family. My dad owns a dojo, and-" she suddenly looked a little worried. "Go on." He said to encourage her. Even if it was something bad he wanted to know. "Our fathers made arrangements when we were little. You would inherit the dojo from my dad when-" She stopped again. "Please continue, if it's something bad I don't care-it's my life right?" Akane nodded and finished the sentence. "You would inherit the dojo from my dad when you and I got married." Ramna's eyes widened a little.

"You're shocked now? Just wait." She said. "No way! There's more interesting stuff? Wow." Akane prepared to tell him about the curse, but couldn't because the nurse walked in.

"Oh good morning Akane. Ranma you're awake! Good heavens!" the nurse ran out to get the doctor. They entered the room a minute later. "How are you feeling today Ranma?" the doctor asked.

"I don't remember anything. Other than that I'm great." He said. For some reason he wasn't too worried about not remembering anything. "Oh my." The nurse said. "You poor dear." She said. The doctor checked Ranma out. He did some tests, and decided to keep him a while longer for observation. Ranma and Akane agreed and the doctor left. Akane said she'd call everyone in a little while when he offered to do it.

"Okay, back to where we were." Akane said. "Yeah, yeah. Tell me all the juicy details of my life." He said. Akane was cheering him up and gave him the impression that he could rely on her.

"So before you and your dad came to my house, you had a training trip to China. You two were training at this place where there are cursed springs. When you fall into one, you transform into whatever drowned in the spring when you're hit with cold water. You and your dad fell into separate springs. Your dad becomes a panda, and you turn into a girl. Hot water changes you back into your normal body." "What? I'm cursed-to become a girl? Oh my god!" He was shocked and appalled.

"I know. You hate it. You were always trying to find a cure." She said. "Is there one?" He asked. "Oh yes. It's not as important as other things though. You'd go if it was free, but you didn't have the time or money. It wasn't unbearable though. You made it fun sometimes." "Well, maybe it isn't that bad, but that's kind of weird- a guy becoming a girl." He said. "But you still haven't answered my question. Not really. How did we meet?"

"The first time we ever met, you were a girl. It was raining the day you and Genma came. I found out the hard way that you were a guy. But nobody told me Kasumi sent you off to take a bath." "That must have been embarrassing for both of us." Ranma said imagining that.

"It was, but everything got complicated after that. It wasn't between us really, I mean it was sort of, but everything was complicated until recently." She said. "Complicated? How so?" He asked. He didn't know about their relationship. They were betrothed, but what did that mean?

"Akane, tell me about yourself. I know the basics of my life now, but what about you?" Akane was a little relieved she didn't have to get into the whole big complicated story of what happened from the time they met to the present. She started with the basics.

"Well, I am the youngest of three daughters. My mother died when I was really young, so my father and sisters raised me. I train under the martial arts, and can kick any guy's butt except for you and our friend Ryoga. You can kick his butt, and he is always trying to get better so he can beat you." They laughed. There was one more thing he wanted to ask but didn't know how to go about asking it.

"Akane, what about us? What were we like? Were we friends?" She was happy Ranma was asking the questions, rather than her bringing them up on her own.

"What we were Ranma, we were many things." She said. Ranma's heart twinged. He hoped that meant something good. "What do you mean- many things?" He asked.

"I sort of hoped we could talk about this later. It's a really long story." She said. "Well, then tell me how this happened. How did I end up here?" He asked. "I'll answer that." She said.

"It happened on Saturday. Today is Tuesday. We came home from school everyday and for an hour or so we would train together. It was mostly you training me. It was raining really hard. The roof started creaking and we tried to run, but it caved in. You got most of the injuries because you were protecting me. You got hit on the head, and then we both were unconscious. I woke up about an hour later with this." She held up her left hand that was wrapped up. She started crying. "I'm so sorry this happened." Ranma wanted to do something to consol her. He grabbed the wrapped hand gently and held it.

"Akane, I think I- the old me- I must have fallen in love with you pretty soon after we met." She looked at him. "Why do you say that?" She asked. "Because I feel like I'm in love with you." He said. "And," he slipped the engagement ring off of her finger. "Why else would I have given you something like this?" He said. "Yeah, we were in love. We were engaged without being betrothed. We loved each other with a passion."

Ranma smiled. "Somehow I knew that. I don't know why. It's weird, but when I look at you, a person _I_ have just met, I don't know, but you make me feel good. You make me feel calm, without a care in the world. Maybe there's something about you that lingers in my memory, but there's something really special about you." He smiled. Akane smiled and started crying again.

"So when was the wedding?" He asked. "Soon. A little more than a month away." She said. "And what about other stuff- when did I tell you I loved you for the first time?" He asked.

"A few weeks ago. You can even say our one month anniversary is this coming Saturday." She said. "Our one month anniversary of what?" Ranma asked. "Our one month anniversary of everything." She said in an exasperated voice. Ranma choked. "E-everything? Even…?" "Yes." Akane answered. She could only tell this sort of stuff to one person, and she was talking to him. "So you're telling me that I forgot about my first time? I forgot about me telling you I loved you, our first kiss? Everything we ever had-I forgot it all." He sounded so depressed now. "Man. I thought being cursed was bad, but then I find out my life was so good. I'd give anything to remember _us_. No wonder you seemed unhappy, I'd be too. Just imagine having to tell the person you loved how they fell in love with you, or what they were feeling, or what they said and did. I'm sorry to put you through so much." Ranma said. Akane didn't think he should be apologizing for getting amnesia.

"Ranma listen. I love you, and I'd do anything for you. You don't have to apologize for this. Things happen. Maybe you'll get those memories of us back one day. You have time. Just concentrate on getting your health back to its fullest for now.

A half hour later the gang walked in the door. The doctor had called after he saw Ranma a couple of hour earlier, and told the family of his condition. Ranma had fun guessing who they all were from what Akane had told him. They had fun for the most part, but both he and Akane were sad about his lost memories.

"The doctor said he'll release you after lunch." Mrs. Saotome said. Ranma smiled and nodded and couldn't help but feel a little like a stranger. Akane gave him hope though. He saw her and knew that, amnesia or not, she loved him, and would always be there by his side, supporting him, and he loved her for that.


	16. The Promise

A.N.: I am sorry for keeping you readers waiting…. That was terrible of me. Please don't flame me! Please be happy I'm giving you another chapter… I hope it's good! I sure worked on it for long enough. –Things to look forward to—Ranma becoming a girl! He doesn't remember ever doing it, so it was pretty funny writing it. Lately I've been deeply immersed in writing my inuyasha fic, so I guess I've got inuyasha on the mind… I haven't read any ranma in a while… but he and inu kind of have the same personality, except for some differences, like ones half dog demon and has furry ears… okiies, well I'm tired and sick, so I must regain my strength and health! Until next time! Please r and r

Disclaimer—this story is mine, but the characters and curse belong to rumiko!

Chapter 16: The Promise

Everyone returned home after lunch. The doctor looked at Ranma and declared that aside from amnesia, he was fine. During the afternoon, Ranma was testing out his body, athletic wise. He jumped around, doing flips and kicks.

"I'm really fit!" he said in amazement. "You're a martial artist!" Genma said to his son in an annoyed matter. He was still bitter because he got yelled at for being drunk that day and causing Nodoka so much trouble.

"Genma, stop torturing Ranma! He's your son or are you the one who doesn't remember that!" Akane shouted at him. She pulled Ranma into the house. "C'mon Ranma, I'll show you where you're sleeping." She pulled him up to her bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"Your parents are currently sleeping in the guest room, so I was moved to my sister's room, and you and Ryoga are now sharing my room." She said. "This is a nice room." Ranma said. He was looking a bit awkward.

"Um, you used to sleep in my bed, but I don't know if you are comfortable doing that. I'll tell you what, if you choose to, you can sleep in my bed, but if you don't want to, I'll get you some blankets for the floor." She offered.

They left the bedroom after Ranma agreed to her plan. Doctor Tofu had accompanied them home and agreed to stay for a while, just incase he was needed. The dojo was being rebuilt, and all of the rubble had been cleared away. Soun Tendo still could not figure out why it had fallen. It was most likely lightening, but he was not convinced.

Ryoga was currently with Ukyo at her restaurant. They were worried about Ranma of course, but they didn't want to put too much pressure on him. They figured that meeting too many people would be over whelming for him, so they decided to give it some time.

Shampoo had shut herself away in her room since the party. She had eaten of course, but she was very depressed. Her great grandmother tried many things to make her feel better, but nothing really worked. She had been thinking about going to Ranma for help. He might not want to marry Shampoo, but he would have helped her, but it was too late. She had caught wind of his accident, and only hoped that he could get better so he could help Shampoo out.

Back at the Tendo residence, Kasumi and Tofu were in the kitchen. He had been chopping some vegetables very haphazardly, so she took the knife out of his hand and moved him over to the sink so he could wash dishes. Nodoka knew why he was acting so weird, but didn't say anything and decided to let them handle dinner.

She was very anxious about her son anyway. She knew there was nothing she could do, but she wanted to so desperately. She wanted there to be something she could do for him that would make him remember who he was, make him remember his life. She realized that Akane was thinking the same thing, so she decided to back off for the time being.

Akane and Ranma had gone for a walk into town. She thought that maybe if he saw something there, it could possibly make him remember something. It was only a hope though. Ranma desperately wanted to remember something for Akane. He hated seeing her in such pain. He wanted to show her something so she didn't have to suffer or think that it was hopeless.

"Ranma, are you okay?" She asked. "Yes." He said. "Do you want to go somewhere specific? Do you know any of these buildings?" She asked. "I want to, but I don't. Why don't you take me to a place we've been to." Ranma said.

"Okay." Akane said. "Oh, Ranma, please don't feel pressured to remember things. I'm very confident that you'll be okay, no matter what happens. Feel free to be yourself. You don't have to act like someone you can't remember. Just be yourself." She smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go see Ukyo." "Sounds good." Ranma said, not knowing who this person was.

Moments later, the two of them entered Ukyo's restaurant. It was a nice place, but Ranma didn't remember it, just like he didn't remember anything else. He saw a girl who smiled at him and approached them. She was wearing a bow on her head, and carried a gigantic spatula.

"Hey guys." She said as she approached. "Ranma, I guess you don't know me, but I know you. I am Ukyo." She said. "Hello. I think I remember Akane saying something about you being an old friend of mine, but you don't look old to me." Ranma said, trying to make a joke to lighten the mood.

Ukyo brought them to a table and said she'd bring them the "usual." Ranma caught a glimpse of Ryoga, who he didn't know, but thought that since he knew Ukyo, he knew the guy who was working with her too.

"Akane, Who is that?" Ranma asked. He pointed to Ryoga and Akane told him. "That is Ryoga. He's the one who shares my room with you. I think he might be staying here for a while, though." Akane said.

"Tell me about him." Ranma said. "Well, you and Ryoga always competed for many things, but you were the better martial artist. He's got a terrible sense of direction, but he's got a kind heart. You even asked him to be your best man at our wedding." Akane added. She didn't want to tell him too much, but she didn't want to deny him the truth either.

Ukyo brought them their food and even doodled the usual doodle on Ranma's okonomiyaki. He thought it was amusing and sweet, but he didn't remember. She sat with them for a little while and told him about their friendship and haphazard engagement.

"Well, Ukyo, you're a very nice person. I know that you were friends with the old me, so I hope you can still be my friend too." Ranma said.

"Ukyo!" Ryoga called her from behind the counter. He wasn't a good chef, so he helped with the money. There were a lot of customers coming in, so Ukyo was needed n the kitchen. She got up and told Ranma he was welcome any time.

Akane and Ranma finished their food and got up to leave. Ranma was getting a head ache from all of the noise. Akane tried to pay, but Ukyo wouldn't let her. They smiled and promised to come back tomorrow.

On the way home Akane looked up. "It looks like rain. If we hurry, we can beat it." she said. The rain started. This was the first time Ranma had changed into a girl since the accident.

"Hey! I'm a girl!" Ranma said. She was checking her new body out. "This is so weird." She said.

The old Ranma was used to the transformation, but this one didn't remember it. It was like getting reacquainted with an old habit that you quit and then picked up again.

"Okay, now this is just freaking me out." Ranma said. "Ranma, if we hurry home, you can change back sooner." Akane said. They hurried home. "Akane, was I used to this? I mean what was my opinion on this curse?" Ranma asked.

"It was annoying to you, but you still had amazing martial arts abilities. Sometimes you used the curse to your advantage, or to torment others. You really tried to find a cure for it though. But you had lots of modesty. It really wasn't like you were a pervert and wanted to sneak into the girls locker room, but sometimes I wondered." They laughed.

Ranma was very relieved to have his old body back once he got in the shower. Genma was kind enough to tell Ranma not to take his braid out, and told him of the scary consequences. By now Ranma knew he led an interesting life. With all the places he'd been and everything he'd learned, and all of his fiancés, he knew he wasn't the indoor type.

That night, Akane had left him extra blankets and pillows incase he didn't want to sleep in her bed. He was thankful for this, because even thought they were engaged, she was really engaged to the real Ranma, not him, the counterfeit Ranma who didn't have any memories of his life.

Ranma gathered the blankets and pillows and headed for the couch downstairs. He told himself that he'd sneak back into Akane's room before she got up so she wouldn't feel bad that he was uncomfortable in her room.

He made himself comfortable on the couch and fell asleep after a few minutes of pondering. His dreams were incomplete images. Maybe they were memories, maybe not.

Akane woke up in the middle of the night and figured she'd check on Ranma. She walked down to her bedroom and looked in. he wasn't on the bed or the floor.

She closed the door and walked to the top of the steps. She saw him on the couch, and wanted to make sure he was okay. She snuck down the stairs and got a closer look.

Ranma looked like he was having weird or unpleasant dreams. He was tossing and turning. Akane was a few feet away from him when he spoke out.

"Akane!" She was startled and thought he woke up. She moved closer when she saw he was still asleep.

"Ranma, I'm here." She said softly so only he could hear her.

"Akane, don't… please don't… I'm going to…" he stopped.

"What Ranma?" She asked.

"Don't…leave me…I'm going to remember… I promise…I'll remember… for you…" he said.

Akane was blushing and really confused. Was this her Ranma? Or was it the Ranma with amnesia? She wasn't sure, but she answered the best way she could.

"I'll be waiting for you Ranma. Please come back to me soon." She said, tears welling in her eyes.

She went back to sleep in her room since Ranma chose to sleep on the couch. They did have school tomorrow, and he was back in perfect health except for his amnesia, so they would go, and she'd make sure he'd be okay.


	17. Regaining Memories

A.N.: the title implies many things about this chapter… I really couldn't leave you with the story the way it was back there, could i? NEVER! And believe me, it only gets better! Thanx so much for the reviews! Keep 'em coming.. they make me happy… I shall reward reviewers…whit lots of good stuff!

Chapter 17: Regaining Memories

The next morning was a bit haphazard. Akane forgot to set her alarm because she was half asleep by the time she got back to her bedroom. Ranma woke her up after Kasumi realized Akane was sleeping in.

They left a little after breakfast and had to run to school. Akane slowed down when they were about half way there.

"I can't run anymore. It's okay if we're late." She said, huffing and puffing for air. She was tired and still a little worried about her fiancé. If he didn't remember soon, they might have to postpone the wedding.

"Ranma?" She asked. "Yes?" He responded.

"Um, never mind." She said, blushing. She didn't want to just outright ask him if he remembered making that promise to her. He was asleep! He probably didn't remember at all.

Ranma was actually worried that Akane was going to be upset at him for not sleeping in her room like she wanted him to.

"Um, actually, I hope you aren't mad at me." he said. Akane was confused by this. She had been in her own world trying to figure out how she could ask him if he remembered that he made a promise to her, and was suddenly snapped out of it.

"Mad at you? why would I be mad?" she asked.

"Well, because I didn't sleep in your room like you wanted me to. I'm sorry, I just didn't feel right about it. you might have wanted me to, but I didn't feel comfortable. That's why I slept on the couch." He said.

"Oh." She said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pressured you like that. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." She said.

"No, please, don't feel bad. I can tell you're worried about me because you came down to check on me right?" He asked.

"You remember?" she asked, not really thinking.

"Akane, I lost my memories from before I got hit in the head, not all the memories after it." he said jokingly.

"No, I mean, you know I was there?" She asked, feeling stupid.

"Yeah. Thanks." He said. He didn't want to say that he remembered the promise, because it might put them in some sort of odd situation where he'd swear to remember over and over and over, and it would just turn into some ongoing circle of hope and false belief. This of course didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

Ranma already knew that he made Akane that promise, and he wanted to do everything within his power to keep it, without constantly reminding her of the fact that he was just the body of her fiancé, her lover, without the memories and genuine feelings. But how he planned on getting those lost memories back, he did not know.

They reached the school within the next few minutes. The bells were just ringing. "C'mon! we can still make it!" Akane grabbed his hand and pulled him so they could make it to class on time. All of a sudden he remembered another time when she grabbed his hand and pulled him away from something.

This was definitely something new. It was a memory! But nothing to get too excited about. He was happy though, because just a small touch made him remember something. Maybe if he tried to figure it out, he could find a way to remember everything.

"De ja vu…" he mumbled to himself with a small chuckle.

Being that it was the first time back to school for both of them, the other students wanted to know what happened.

At lunch everyone asked Akane and Ranma what happened, and Akane tried to explain as much as would be sufficient. "Our dojo collapsed and we were both injured." Akane said, pointing to her wrist that was wrapped up.

"Ranma, didn't you save her? I thought you were supposed to be her knight in shining armor." One of the students asked.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" He asked. "You see, he did, and that's why he has amnesia." Akane said. A lot of the boys who were the more crude ones, asked Ranma what it was like finding out he was cursed to be a girl when hit with cold water.

They all got hits on the head from both Ranma and Akane and didn't ask any other questions along that line.

Ranma got another small memory from hitting some of the guys. They were just memories of when he used to do that when they got annoying or annoyed Akane. He smiled to himself and tried to think of things to do after school to help him get another memory. His goal was at least two more by then end of the day.

School was a bit interesting. Because he did actually remember making that promise to Akane, it meant he was partially awake, and so he was tired during their very boring math lesson. He found himself falling asleep and couldn't help it one bit.

Ranma woke when the teacher hit him on the head with her teaching stick and gave him extra homework for being disobedient. This made him remember another time when that happened and how he tried to make Akane help him with the assignment, and how he felt trying to use the "because I'm your fiancé" excuse.

'I was a complex person.' He thought. The memory made him remember the feelings he felt at the time of the memory. It made him so happy to say that he was Akane's fiancé, but the insecurity of not knowing whether or not she returned those feelings was insane, even if it was just over the simple question of "does she like me the way I like her?"

All of this was beginning to make Ranma feel as if he was watching a movie backwards. He knew everything that was happening in the present, and was trying to figure out what happened in the past. He knew that Akane loved him and all of that, but finding out how they fell in love was the most interesting thing.

On the way home, Ranma asked if they could go to Ukyo's restaurant, hoping that he would find the next clue there. Akane obliged and walked contentedly as though she knew she could trust in ranma and not worry about anything.

They got to Ukyo's restaurant and took some seats. He asked Ukyo to make him the okonmiyaki she always made him, and she more than happily obliged. Her actions actually aided his plan, because she threw it at him the way she used to.

When he caught it, as he hoped, he got a memory, and this time, the emotions were very strong. It was the memory of when Ukyo came to town in order to get her revenge on him for having to live her life as a boy.

Ranma remembered when she said she was supposed to be his fiancé and how mixed his feelings were. They had always been friends, and that was how he thought of her. He was in pain because he knew he would be hurting Ukyo, but even more so because the whole sitution was hurting Akane. Akane was the one who he really intended to marry. It was like that since they met.

Akane was the one girl he could see himself with in the future, and he hoped to make her love him so that they could live happily together. It was then that he realized that he never wanted to make her doubt him.

"Ranma, why do you look sad? Is it the okonomiyaki? Did I cook it wrong or something?" both Akane and Ukyo were staring at him worriedly.

He looked up at Ukyo who was standing and said, "I'm sorry Ucchan. I didn't mean to ever hurt you."

Both girls were confused until it hit them. "Ranma, you said Ucchan! I never told you that was what you used to call me! You remembered! You remembered!" Ukyo shouted.

"Ranma, what did you remember?" Akane asked.

"I remembered when Ucchan came here and we found out she was supposed to be my fiancée, and all of that." He said. "Ucchan I'm sorry for that." He said. "I never meant to hurt you if I did." He looked sad.

"Ranma, forget it, okay? Its in the past and we took care of that ages ago. Besides, I've moved on." She pointed to Ryoga who was working at the counter.

Both girls didn't notice anything until it hit them. "Ranma, you said Ucchan! I never told you that was what you used to call me! You remembered! You remembered!" Ukyo shouted.

"Ranma, what did you remember?" Akane asked.

"I remembered when Ucchan came here and we found out she was supposed to be my fiancée, and all of that." He said. "Ucchan I'm sorry for that." He said.

"Ranma, do you remember anything else?" Akane asked.

"Well I did remember something in school, sort of like deja vu. But not much." He said.

"Ranma that's great!" She said excitedly. She almost jumped out of her seat in excitement.

Ranma felt a little uncomfortable telling them because now it meant that he might be under pressure to regain more memories, and he wasn't sure if that would happen.

Ranma and Akane left the shop and walked home. Akane was all smiles, because she had a little bit of hope that she might get her Ranma back. All of a sudden, Ranma was splashed with water. She shouted at the person responsible and told them to watch where they're splashing.

When they got home, Akane decided to not tell everyone else about Ranma's memories, and he was thankful. The last thing he wanted was more people to get excited and put more pressure on him, but he still wanted to know for himself.

"Ranma," Akane started before Ranma-chan got into the bathroom.

"Yes, Akane?" she asked.

"I don't want you to feel pressured to try to remember things, okay?" Akane asked.

"I'm still going to try. I wont feel pressured from you, but I want to remember so I know who I am." She said, and ducked into the bathroom before Akane could say more.

Ranma sat in a hot bath in deep thought. He realized he remembered certain things with similar triggers. He remembered the stuff about Ukyo with her okonomiyaki, and he remembered something that happened with Akane when she touched him for a brief second.

This then made him think about the memories he wanted more than anything. Akane. He wanted to know everything that happened between them. There was so much that must have happened, but what was it? It was more than want. Ranma needed to know.

But if memories need triggers, the memories of Akane need a trigger too. And if he wanted to remember _everything_ that happened between them, there was only one way.

"No, there has to be another way. I'm not going to do that. I can't. It's not right." He said finally, getting out of the tub. With that decision made, Ranma dressed and decided to find another way to get his memories back.

Ranma slept on the couch that night and the next few that followed. Akane remained in Kasumi's room just incase Ranma wanted to sleep in hers still. She always checked on him to make sure he was ok. Over those days, he regained a few memories. Kuno triggered a few, and so did Ryoga. He was starting to get annoyed though, because the memories were just basic facts. There weren't many emotions involved. All they really were were memories of fights or competitions.

He was really starting to panic, thinking his memories might never return. Today, there had been no triggers at all. Nothing. It was already late afternoon, and nothing. Ranma couldn't take being in the house. Akane… she couldn't find out that he didn't remember anything. Yes there was no pressure, but of course she wanted him to remember. He wasn't _her_ Ranma until he had all of his memories. That thought was enough to put him over the edge.

"Hey, Ranma? Are you feeling allright?" Akane asked. "You look like something's bothering you." She said. She put her hand on his shoulder in a gentle way, and he jumped away, shocked.

"Get away from me!" He shouted. He realized what he did, and then that her touch brought no memories to him. The look on her face was more painful for him to look at than the thought that he hadn't gotten memories from her touch.

"A-Akane, I'm sorry." He said.

"It's ok Ranma. Really. Just, I have to go, excuse me." She walked away, bringing her hand to her face, hiding her tears. She left the house, and broke into a run. She didn't know what exactly she was running from. Maybe it was the fear that he didn't love her, or maybe it was the fear _her_ Ranma might never come back. All she wanted to do was get away.

The wind blew and clouds began to move in. another rain storm was moving in, but Akane was too distraught to notice. She ran until her sorrow threatened to consume her, and found a bench under a cherry tree and sat. The darkening sky flashed, and thunder's low growl caught her attention. Ranma was already chasing after her, hating himself, and wanting more than anything to make her happy again.

The wind blew and sakura petals brushed against his face, making him look up to find her. She sniffled, not noticing him until he spoke her name softly.

"Akane…"

Ranma approached her slowly and cautiously. She looked up at him with glistening eyes.

"Akane, I'm sorry for reacting like that. It's just, you have no idea how scared I am right now. I am so scared that I'll never remember you. . I want to remember what you mean to me. I want to remember how you felt in my embrace. I want more than anything to be the Ranma you fell in love with. I want to be the man who you vowed to spend your life with." He said. Akane's tears came back full force. She was about to say something, but there was another flash of lightening, and a loud crash of thunder.

The tree they were sitting under was hit, and the branch directly over them started to fall.


	18. RanmaCome Back To Me

A.N.: Wow, I just realized that this fic is going to be really perfect. A nice even 20 chapters. From this point on, it's happy happy happy! And if you'd like a continuation to this fic (aka babies) let me know… or it could really be just anything! I'm thinking of adding a lemon to the next chapter, but it might have to be chopped for the version. I'm so happy! My goal for the next few weeks will be getting this fic done, because I'm basically on the home stretch… there's only a little bit left! Its really amazing I haven't written this fic since when…December? Until yesterday, i had very little intention to continue, but I got an urge to write, and thus-here we are. Please enjoy and review! Get back to me on the after story thing! (I'm thinking of a journey to get rid of the curse, and graduation and more weddings and tying up lots of loose ends… hey I'm convincing myself to do this! LOL)

Chapter 18: Ranma…Come Back To Me…

Akane was paralyzed with fear. Ranma with his quick martial arts reactions grabbed Akane and maneuvered them to be under the bench. Time did not permit. Akane was pushed safely under the bench, but Ranma didn't make it in time.

She was in shock, and too scared to move. Cold rain fell hard, and the water splattering on her face finally got her out of her shock. Breathing hard, she turned over to see where Ranma was.

"R-Ranma!" she shouted, seeing the now transformed Ranma lying unconscious near her. Was he hurt? Where was he hurt? Why was he unconscious? She desperately needed the answers as these questions ran through her mind.

She freed herself from the bench and kneeled over Ranma. She was still alive and breathing. There was a big gash on her forehead, which led her to the conclusion that he had been hit on the head by the branch.

"Ranma! Ranma!" She shouted, trying to wake the now transformed Ranma up. People who saw the lightning strike came over to investigate. The rain came down hard and cold as ice, and Akane was scared to death. Everything became blurry, and then went black, as Akane collapsed on top of Ranma.

"Hey! Get a doctor! A tree branch just fell on these two girls! Hurry!" a voice shouted.

Akane awoke to a warm and comfortable bed. The Tendo's and Saotome's were all looking at her with anxious expressions.

"Akane! Dear!" Akane's father said as she woke. She remembered what happened and shot up.

"Ranma!" she yelled, looking around for him, and seeing him lying in a bed next to hers. His face was bandaged and he still looked unconscious.

Everyone made Akane settle back down because she was trying to get out of bed to see Ranma.

"He's allright, Akane. Please, tell us what happened." Genma spoke.

Akane nodded and sat back in the bed.

She went into an explanation of what happened, leaving out the reasons for her seeking the asylum of the tree, and their conversation. Reliving the experience, short as it was, was still a great emotional strain. Tears welled up in here eyes, and the nurse came into the room, telling everyone that visiting hours were over. Akane was obviously staying at the hospital overnight, because she was still severely shaken. The nurse waited for the family to say their goodbyes and to leave. She told Akane Ranma's condition and gave her reassurance that it wasn't severe.

As soon as the nurse was gone, Akane jumped out of her bed to see Ranma. He was still unconscious. She sat on the edge of his bed and took his hand. She spoke with tears in her eyes.

"Ranma, I'm so sorry. Please, you have to wake up. You have to come back to me, Ranma. I love you so much. It doesn't matter whether or not your memories come back. It doesn't. I will always love you. We can make new memories together. All I want is for you to come back to me. Please Ranma, come back." She sobbed into his chest. "Come back, Ranma." She held onto him, sobbing and praying for him to wake up. She cried herself to sleep, still holding him tight.

The sun shone brightly on Ranma and Akane. He stirred first. He slowly opened his eyes and felt so weird. True, his head hurt a little, but the weirdness was something internal. Akane's weight was soft and gentle against him. He loved the familiarity of it.

He brought a hand up and gently smoothed it through his lover's hair. She looked beautiful and peaceful. She stirred and looked up.

"Ranma! You're okay!" she said, un latching herself from him. He looked at her, at relieved look in her eyes. Staying silent, he gently grabbed her and held her, so he could look at her with out her moving.

"Ranma, what are you-" she started and was cut off when he covered her lips with his hand.

"Akane, I could hear what you were saying to me. Thank you for your love and devotion to me, even when I lost my memories. Just—thank you, for everything." He took her into a desperate embrace and took her lips into a passionate kiss. When he let go, she looked into his eyes. And started crying.

"Ranma, it's you." She cried onto his shoulder, and then kissed him again.

"I feel like I haven't seen you for such a long time." Ranma said. "I was struggling so hard to come back to you. And now I've finally made it back to you." He said. Akane was still crying. He cradled her in his lap and held her tightly.

"You came back to me, Ranma. You came back." Was all Akane could say.

"I felt like I would die if I didn't get back to you. Not being with you was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. I will never let you out of my sight again." He said, breathing deep.

"Ranma, I will always be with you. I love you so much." Akane whispered.

"Let's get married Akane. Let's get married as soon as possible. I want you to be my wife, and I want to be your husband." Ranma said with all seriousness. Akane answered him with a kiss that made his soul scream.

"Oh, so as soon as he's conscious, you want to deprive him of air? That's very smart." The nurse said as she walked into the room. Akane and Ranma stopped at the shock of being walked in on, and then realized that it was a hospital, where they didn't have that much privacy.

"Sorry ma'am, it was my doing." Ranma said.

"Well, I guess it shows that you aren't hurt too bad." The nurse smiled a motherly smile. She left some breakfast for them, and told Akane to feed him if necessary, with a wink.

"No, don't even think about it Akane, I can do it myself!" Ranma said, not wanting to be treated like a child.

"But Ranma, you don't want to make a mess. Why don't you just let me do it?" Akane said slyly. She held up chopsticks with food. Ranma opened his mouth to speak, but Akane shoved the food in. he tried to resist as much as he could, but eventually gave in, realizing that resistance was futile against Akane.

The doctor was in to examine both of them after breakfast. Akane was fine, and Ranma was released as well, with a promise to take it easy. The doctor put a smaller bandage on Ranma's cut and left to let them dress.

The families of the two arrived and took them both home. Everyone was so happy that Ranma had regained his memories. During the walk home, Ranma hung back a little to talk to his mother.

"Mom, how soon can Akane and I get married?" he asked in a low voice. She looked at him and realized how much of a man he'd really become.

"Ranma, you can get married whenever you want. I mean, if you'd like preparations and all the proper arrangements, it'll take a few days. I can have everything ready on Saturday." She said.

"Thanks mom, Saturday sounds perfect." He smiled and pecked her on the cheek. He then caught back up to Akane and whispered to her.

"We wed Saturday." He said softly, smiling and grabbing her hand. Akane squeezed his hand to show her excitement. Then, a quick thought popped into her head.

"We should go tell Ukyo and Ryoga!" she said. "They are probably still worried about you, Ranma. We should go tell them, and also tell them about Saturday."

The two of them excused themselves from the group walking home and made their way to Ucchan's, the okonomiyaki shop where Ukyo and Ryoga were.

As they walked in, Ukyo shouted "Welcome to Ucchan's!" before she even realized who it was.

"Ranma! Akane! Hello!" she beamed. Ryoga looked up hearing her shout the names of his two close friends. Ukyo threw okonomiyaki fresh from the stove to Ranma, who caught it with a childish smile. Ukyo spotted the bandage on his forehead and rushed over.

"Ranma, how did you get hurt?" She asked. Ryoga was looking on from his spot behind the counter. Ranma put a playful look on his face.

"Oh, its nothing really. Just a small price to pay for getting my memory back." He shrugged simply. Ryoga hopped the counter and made his way over. Ukyo practically jumped onto Ranma, hugging him tightly. The okonomiyaki fell to the floor with a light thud.

"Oh Ranma, that's so wonderful!" she almost cried. Ryoga was happy, but didn't hug onto Ranma like Ukyo. He looked at Akane and knew that she was the happiest girl in the world, and was happy for her. He knew he'd have to let go of the love he always held for her and admit that he had been defeated by Ranma, but it wasn't so hard. It didn't mean he didn't love her, it just meant that he was moving on. If loving her meant stepping aside, that was ok. He wanted her happiness above anything else, and if it was Ranma who made her happy, so be it.

Besides, he had Ukyo. They were both heart broken because they couldn't have the ones they loved, but they were healing together, and forming a really great bond. Their bond was even evolving into something more, perhaps they'd be in a deep relationship soon.

Ukyo finally let go of Ranma, and wiped her tears. Perhaps they were tears of happiness or tears of sorrow, but she put a smile on her face either way.

"we also came to tell both of you something else." Akane said. She nudged Ranma, and he spoke.

"We're getting married on Saturday." Ranma said simply. Ukyo and Ryoga smiled for them and they all sat to talk about details.

Ranma and Akane walked home about an hour later, thrilled to be in each other's presence. It wasn't the same to have a Ranma with amnesia. Akane would have dealt with it if she had to, because either way, she loved him, but _her_ Ranma was who she wanted.

Ranma, of course didn't care about the little bump on his head. He'd received worse in battles with Ryoga and Kuno. He wouldn't allow himself to miss a day of school, or worse, not be with Akane.

It was weird, because he remembered bits and pieces of what happened while he had amnesia. He remembered a lot of the emotions he felt, like the need to remember, and the fear of never doing so. His love for Akane was always there, and it was comforting to know that his entire being loved Akane, even without the memories they shared.

The next few hours passed without much stress. Nodoka told everyone of the wedding being on Saturday, and the fathers wanted to go crazy, but decided to restrain themselves after the girls defended Ranma, not wanting his injuries to worsen. Everyone was getting ready for bed, and Akane and Ranma were somehow left in the living room alone. Akane could feel the question Ranma was about to ask. She took hold of his hand and pulled him.

"Let's go." She blushed a little, without knowing why. They entered her bedroom and she closed the door behind them. She tried to pull Ranma again, but he pulled back, making her look up. He pulled her into a hug, sighing heavily.

"Akane, I want you more than life itself, but I want to wait. I want to make our wedding night perfect. Please wait with me until then." He said softly. She nodded into his chest.

"I just want you with me, Ranma. We've been apart for too long. I just want to hold you and feel you next to me." Akane said.

Akane and Ranma squeezed ever so perfectly into her smallish bed. Ranma wrapped his arms around Akane, making her feel the best she's felt in a long time. He loved how she felt against him. She was the perfect size, shape, everything. He kissed her head gently before snuggling even more. They were asleep within minutes dreaming the sweetest of dreams.


	19. The Wedding

A.N.: Hello readers! This is the penultimate chapter! (learn some vocabulary—it means 2nd to last) and I guess I jammed this back in May. I've been putting off working on the last chapter, because once its done, that'll mean that it's the first fan fic more than a oneshot that I've ever finished… (I'll throw a party and you're all invited!) but I figured I'd post this one because I'm about ½ way through chapter 20. its sad to be writing it, but it's a great chapter… lots of hook ups and happy events. Yes, it'll be the last chapter of _this_ story, but I think I'll probably write a little tiny sequel because I still want to accomplish things like the curse and more weddings and engagements and love and babies! Didn't I mention babies before? Well, I think I did, but if you didn't read it, then here it is again! BABIES! Yay… but for now, just read this short chapter and wait for like a week and you'll get the last chapter and you'll cry at the beauty…(I better stop because I don't like honking my own horn) please please give me those very helpful reviews that tell me to get a move one, because those help push me to write more! And I always love the ones that are like "I love it!" because those push me even more. Thanx again for constant support!(feel free to send emails!)

Chapter 19: The Wedding

Akane wore a beautiful white wedding dress with no straps. She was the most beautiful girl in the world on her wedding day. Ranma came out in a black tuxedo, looking very gentlemanly and hot.

Everyone else was dressed beautifully. Akane's sisters and Ukyo wore matching bride's mates' dresses, and Ryoga, Tendo, and Genma were in matching tuxedos as the best men.

The guests were all there, the food was prepared and ready to eat. Everything was perfect. Akane and Ranma were joined at the altar, about to say their "I do"s when all of a sudden there was a loud crash.

Akane jerked awake from her nightmare. It was still dark outside. Ranma woke from her start and asked her if she was ok. She nodded and said it was nothing, just a bad dream. She settled back into Ranma's arms hoping it was only that.

The sun rose at its regular time, and so did Kasumi and Nodoka with it. They would work together on all of the preparations for the wedding that would take place in only a few days.

"Akane and Ranma should be up for school." Kasumi said after a little while. She headed upstairs to wake them. Since Ranma wasn't asleep on the couch in the living room, she figured he stayed in Akane's room. She only hoped they kept it decent and he was on the floor. She got to the door and opened it. The sight that met her eyes was simply angelic.

The tow of them were fast asleep, Akane against Ranma's chest, and Ranma's arms wrapped protectively around her. Kasumi could see they were wearing clothes, and she trusted her sister, so she didn't think they had done anything their father wouldn't permit, at least until they were married. Heck, he'd probably set a rule or something forbidding them to do anything remotely r-rated until they were both 18.

"Akane, Ranma, its time to wake up for school." Kasumi said and left to finish with breakfast. Akane and Ranma stirred.

"Good morning, beautiful." Ranma said. Akane replied with a "good morning." And a little peck on the cheek.

As Akane, Ranma, and Nabiki left the house for school, Dr. Tofu was walking up the drive. Kasumi and he had a little bit of a relationship going, which made him happy, but it was still very unsafe to be around him while Kasumi was there too.

"Dr. Tofu!" Akane shouted happily. He looked up, "Oh hello Akane, hello Ranma." He greeted them. Kasumi came out of the house and greeted him as well. The three students continued walking to school. Ranma and Akane walked hand in hand, happy as could be. What could possibly bring them down from their natural highs? Akane's bad dream could, but she decided to brush it to the back of her mind.

"Are you okay?" Ranma asked. "Yes, I'm perfect Ranma." Akane answered.

The three of them got to the school yard and greeted their friends. It spread quickly that Ranma got his memory back, and many of the students congratulated him. They all asked for details on the wedding, and the two of them didn't know anything because Kasumi and Nodoka were taking care of the preparations.

"We'll let you know more tomorrow." They answered when students asked.

Other than the celebrations of Ranma and Akane's wedding plans and his memory gain, the day was mostly uneventful.

When they got home, they saw that Kasumi, Nodoka, and Dr. Tofu were working on wedding preparations. They were all discussing things as if they were on a check list. Food, placements, flowers, candles, clothing, everything.

The wedding was set for Saturday. Everything had to be ready by then, but there were excellent planners, and many, many helping hands around. Apparently the wedding was going to be big. Ranma and Akane didn't exactly mind a big wedding. They didn't mind a small wedding either. All that really mattered was that there was a wedding taking place on Saturday. It was really up to everyone else what the details were.

Thursday passed with a little more excitement, and Friday was very exciting. The students decided to throw Akane and Ranma a wedding party during school, and their parents threw them a rehearsal dinner/party. The wedding party was there, and the decorations and arrangements were simply beautiful. The planners had really out done themselves.

"This is so beautiful, Nodoka." Akane said in awe. Ranma stood a step behind her, looking around with a look of shock on his face. It seemed that pre-wedding jitters were starting to sink in a little bit for both of them, even though it was extremely hard to tell.

The wedding itself was going to take place in the gigantic back yard of the Tendo property, and the reception would be there as well to save lots of money. If there had been more time, Nodoka would have booked a nicer place with a good view, but she had to work with what she was given.

Once everyone was dressed in their rehearsal dinner/party clothes, the rehearsal began. Nodoka was the one giving most of the instructions. Genma sat in the back of the place watching, and Kasumi and Nabiki were setting up placements on the table.

"Now, Ranma, you stand down there with Ryoga, you stand right next to him honey, that's it. Ukyo, you will stand right there, all right, and Soun, you take Akane and walk. Slowly, that's it. Keep your chin up dear, smile." Nodoka gave instructions to everyone. They all had their places and their tasks. Ranma and Akane thought nothing of it. All they thought about was in a few hours, this would be real. They would really be married. Husband and wife, 'till death do us part'. Death… Akane's nightmare! Maybe it wouldn't be death, but it would certainly be something to disrupt their wedding, that she was sure of.

All of a sudden, she looked up and saw Ranma smiling gently at her, and her whole body filled with warmth. She didn't have to worry that much, because haphazard or not, they were going to get married tomorrow no matter what. They were both sure of that.

Akane woke early the next morning to get ready for the wedding that would take place in the early afternoon. There were so many things that had to be done though.

After eating a hardy breakfast, her sisters and soon to be mother in law pulled her every which way for hours on end, fixing her hair, her nails, her makeup, everything. Ukyo was there too, under the same torture, as it were.

Ranma and Ryoga decided to get out of the house, being that the groom was not supposed to see the bride before the wedding and Ryoga couldn't take all of the hustle and bustle of women. One wrong move and he'd be squee-ing his way into a trap.

In town, the two happened to bump into a certain Chinese "fiancée" who was very unwilling to let go of the fact that he had settled on Akane. He regretted having been seen by her, because she was all over him about marriage and leaving Akane and everything else. He took it for a little while until she started going on about Akane's "imperfections." All of a sudden he grabbed Shampoo's arm and pulled her off of him, looking her straight in the eye and saying,

"Shampoo, don't say anything about Akane out of jealousy. I'm marrying her. Today. Please let us live our lives in peace. I'm sorry but I don't love you. You're a very nice girl and I'm positive you will find happiness with another guy." He started walking away with Ryoga. Tears welled up in her eyes as Ranma's words sank in. She yelled "we shall see who you marry today Ranma!" Before storming off.

Ryoga gave Ranma an alarmed look. "Do you think she might actually do something?" He asked seriously.

"I have no idea, but if she tries to ruin my wedding, it's over. If anything happens to upset Akane today, the person responsible will pay. This is going to be the happiest day of Akane's life." Ranma said with fierce determination. He had the martial arts fighter look in his eyes as he said that.


	20. The End?

A.N.: This can't possibly be the last chapter can it? And I've just finished it…wow…it's been more than a year since I started this fic! Wow! Don't tell me its over or I might cry! I think I'll just have to solve this little problem by writing a sequel! That's it! A sequel! Yay! I still left a few things unfinished…like um…I only included one baby! We need more babies. Lots and lots of babies! I'm still going on about the babies, am I? haha, I need a day job. Well, I really hope you guys looooved this story! And this last chapter will leave you really happy and all "I love you shiichan! I loooove youuuuuu!" (I want reviews like that because I spent countless hours over the past 15 months…typing and typing and reading and reading and typing….) I love you readers, I really do…especially the great ones who review! It's been an awesome 20 chapters, and please don't forget about me! What part of the word sequel don't you understand! All right… thanks again! Tell me what you think, k? –Shii 3 3

Their Love

Chapter 20: The End…?

It had finally happened! Ranma and Akane, after falling in love, being separated, and being reunited, were finally married. Everyone was ecstatic.

Ranma didn't want to let go of his new bride, and Akane didn't want him to let go. Never again did she want to feel so alone.

The Reception lasted for hours and hours. Everyone was so happy, giving constant congratulations to the newlyweds. There were more obscene comments that made the happy fathers realize something about their sixteen-year-old newlyweds. They were sixteen and still in high school. They were too young for _that_ in their opinion, so they inclined their heads and started discussing the matter, trying to come to some sort of conclusion that would bring this new stress off of their heads.

Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane sat together with Ryoga, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Mousse with them. Mousse and Shampoo were too wrapped up in their own little world of newfound love to be disturbed by anything. Ukyo was blushing furiously for some unknown reason, and Ryoga knocked down his glass when he tried to pick it up from the table-twice.

"Ryoga, what's bothering you, man?" Ranma asked. Ryoga looked up with a dumb and stunned look on his face.

"Uh, nothing's wrong. What would make you think a thing like that?" He asked, stuttering.

"Well, because," Ranma started, but Akane grabbed his hand and cut him off.

"Ranma, I'm dying of thirst, let's go get a drink." She said. And stood, dragging Ranma off with her, giving Ryoga a little wink before she left. She had seen the way he acted around Ukyo for a while now, and knew that he spent a lot of time with her at her shop. It was very obvious that he liked her, and perhaps by the blush on Ukyo's face, Ranma and Akane's wedding turned a light bulb on for her as well.

Ryoga looked over at her for a second before she jumped up and said, "I need some fresh air, I'm going outside." Before hurrying towards the door. He followed her a moment later, not wanting to be there next to Shampoo and Mousse, who were holding each other tightly.

"I hope Ryoga does something." Akane whispered to Ranma by the drink table.

"Something like what?" He asked, not knowing what she was talking about.

"Something romantic!" She said dreamily.

"Romantic? Ryoga? Ukyo? Romantic?" he asked, a bit stunned.

"Yes, it's so obvious! Ranma, you seriously couldn't tell?" she asked.

"Uh, sorry, but I wasn't myself for a while. Plus, I was too busy thinking about you, and I wasn't thinking about Ryoga and Ukyo when I was crazy about you." He said.

"So, you were thinking about me that much? Then I'm happy we're married, so I'm yours completely." She said with a smirk. But Ranma's smirk was bigger.

"You aren't _completely_ mine yet." Akane blushed. That's right, how was that going to happen when the party was sure to last for hours. The guests showed no signs of leaving anytime soon.

Ranma distracted Akane from her train of thought by pulling her into a kiss. This made her heart beat faster. Ranma was so warm. His soul engulfed her completely, making he knees weak every time they kissed. He was so strong, yet he was gentle. He was powerful, and passionate, and she loved it all.

They were brought back to reality by the sound of silverware hitting a glass. It was time for a toast. Akane's Father stood on one of the tables, so he had a better view of the room. Everyone fell quiet.

"I'd like to make a toast. There are times in each of our lives that are sad, and there are times in our lives that are happy. Each of my daughters has brought much happiness to my life, but now, Akane has brought happiness into her own life. Genma and I cannot be prouder of our children on this happy day. I hope your path of happiness continues, and that you do not see any days of sadness. To my baby Akane, and her husband Ranma!" He said, raising a glass. Everyone else did the same and drank. Akane wiped her eyes with a smile and a blush. Ranma squeezed her, giving her comfort.

"And before I step down, I have one more happy announcement!" Soun Tendo said. Everyone looked up at him again.

"I'd like to announce the engagement of my eldest daughter Kasumi, to our good friend, Doctor Tofu!" He said. Clearly this was one of the happiest days of his life. One daughter was married, and another was engaged.

Everyone applauded and raised their glasses to Kasumi and Tofu, who were standing on the other side of the room. Akane was happy that Tofu had finally worked up the courage to ask Kasumi to marry him. He always got so shy whenever she was around him.

Nodoka Saotome snuck up on her son and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

"My little boy is all grown up!" She wiped her eyes. "And he's married to such a wonderful young lady, I'm so happy for the two of you! Akane, your mother would be so proud of you, because I know I certainly am." Nodoka said, kissing Akane on the cheek too.

"Thanks, Mom. This means a lot to me. If there's anyone I'd want here on the most important day of my life, it's you." Ranma said to his mother. She wiped her eyes again and excused herself.

"Ah! Kasumi! We have o congratulate her!" Akane said after a moment. She and Ranma went over to Kasumi and Tofu. Akane hugged her sister and then Tofu.

"This is wonderful! I'm so happy for both of you." She said.

"Ah, Ranma, Akane, there is something we'd like to discuss." Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome snuck up on their children. They both got a bad feeling seeing the mischievous looks on their father's faces. Before Akane could really talk to Kasumi, she and Ranma were pulled away by their fathers.

"Now _kids_," they put extra emphasis on the second word. "We've realized that you are only sixteen. Marriage does not give either of you the right or permission to quit school, or to have children before you are 18. While we do desperately want little cute grandkids to play with all day long, you're both young and have lots of time to just be married before you start having kids. We ask that you keep that in consideration for future reference." The fathers nodded and had their arms crossed in front of them. Soun grabbed his daughter with tears streaming down his face. "She's my baby girl! I'm not ready for you to become a woman yet! I forbid anything along the lines of intercourse until you are eighteen!" He shouted.

"Father!" Nabiki shouted. Genma firmly grasped Ranma's shoulder.

"We're serious, boy. You may be married, but that doesn't mean we'll turn a blind eye to the fact that you are still young. Besides, Tendo has anxieties about his 'little girl' that we must take into consideration for his sake more than your own." He said, sighing with his eyes closed.

"So are you saying…" Ranma started. Genma leaned in closer and started whispering.

"Ranma, you are a married man, and you love your wife as you should. I can't exactly stop you from doing whatever you please. Just don't forget Tendo's words." He said.

"I understand." Ranma said.

Akane was being pried from her father's grip by her sisters.

"Dad, Dad!" Akane said. "Stop this! I respect your words, so will you stop this?" She said. He nodded and glared at Ranma.

"I'll never forgive you if you hurt my little girl, got it?" He asked.

"Y-yessir." Ranma said. He had never seen this look in Soun's eyes.

Ranma and Akane got away from their fathers as quickly as they could as soon as they were free. They hurried out of the door to the yard, where there weren't so many people because it was getting dark and cool.

"I can't believe our fathers did that. My father especially. That was so embarrassing. " Akane said. She shivered at the sudden change in temperature and soon had Ranma's jacket draped over her shoulders.

"I don't want you to catch a cold on your wedding night." He said. She grabbed his waist, pulling him close.

"This was the best day of my life, Ranma. Thank you." She said.

"It would have been better without what my father said though." She added.

"Ah, while your father was holding onto you, my father whispered to me. He basically said that we _can_, because they can't exactly stop us, and we are married, but we should keep in consideration what your father said." Ranma said.

"So we just have to find a way to…and not get caught." She said.

"Exactly." Ranma said. This was actually very nerve racking, because a lot had happened since they first snuck out, and things seemed a little more complicated than they were the first time.

"Ranma, Akane, we didn't think we'd find you." Ukyo's voice came from behind them. They turned and saw Ukyo and Ryoga. The light bulb went on over Akane's head.

"Ukyo, can I have a word with you? I need to ask a favor." She pulled Ukyo off to the side.

"Ok, so my father has gone crazy and says that Ranma and I are too young for _it_." She started. Ukyo's eyes widened a bit.

"So, what I need from you and Ryoga…"

"What's up, Ranma, is there something wrong?" Ryoga asked.

"Yeah, kinda. It's just a little dilemma we have." Ranma said, and explained the problem to Ryoga. Akane came back with Ukyo, having explained a little plan she came up with.

"Ok, so here's the plan." Akane started. She told Ranma and Ryoga, who were both a little surprised and amazed at Akane.

"Are you sure this will work? And besides, once you're out, where are you going to go?" Ryoga asked, feeling a little foolish for asking this kind of question.

"Don't worry about that." Ranma said.

"Alright, are you sure you two can handle this?" Akane asked. Ryoga and Ukyo were really blushing now but Ukyo didn't want to let them down.

"It's fine. We can do it. I don't want your wedding night to be spoiled after everything you've gone through." Ukyo said.

"Ok then it's settled. We'll go in and start saying good night." Akane said and pulled Ranma off. Ukyo was left there with Ryoga. Both were blushing and silent.

"Well, we'd better go too." Ukyo said.

The plan that Akane had thought of was that they'd say good night to everyone and go upstairs to her room to go to sleep. Ukyo and Ryoga were their replacements just incase someone came checking in on them. Ranma and Akane would sneak out undetected and spend the night at their little cottage.

Ranma and Akane said their good night's much to everyone's boos of disagreement. They thanked everyone for coming and headed upstairs.

By the time they reached Akane's room, Ukyo and Ryoga had gotten there and were sitting on the bed.

"Feel free to borrow my pajamas." Akane said, pulling some out from her drawer and handing them to Ukyo. She took some for herself too because she didn't want to wear the wedding dress home in the morning. Ranma got a pair of pants for himself as well. They thanked Ukyo and Ryoga again and bit them good night before sneaking out of the window.

A blush formed on the already stunned face of Ryoga at the mere thought of spending the night in the same room as Ukyo. He liked her a lot, and was tempted to kiss her all the time in her shop, but he didn't know how she felt.

"Um Ryoga" Ukyo started. He was shocked from his thoughts and burst out "uh, I'll sleep on the floor if that's alright with you." He was flustered and nervous and didn't know what really to do. For a fighter with great confidence, it all vanished whenever he was around Ukyo.

"No, we can't do that, that isn't believable. Just incase anyone looks in, it has to look like we're married." She blushed at that statement. It was true. She liked Ryoga a lot. He had been helping her at her shop and it was so nice of him all the time to do so. She had developed feelings for him and hadn't realized it until a few weeks ago. Sleeping in the same bed as him, let alone in the same room was intoxicating.

"A-alright. If you insist. B-but don't think I'd do anything to you, because I won't" Ryoga said, hoping that he would be able to control himself. His heart beat wildly and he hoped she couldn't hear it.

"I trust you Ryoga. And I hope I don't make you uncomfortable, because I know I can be a little intimidating, but…"

"You're not intimidating! There's nothing wrong with any part of you. You're perfect in every way!" Ryoga burst out. Ukyo blushed.

"Ah, I'm sorry. That was stupid of me to say. I'm such an idiot." He said.

"You're not an idiot. I think you're great! I mean you're really considerate, and you help me out so much, and you've been such a great friend, and I like you!" She said hastily. Seeing the dumb look on Ryoga's face made her feel like she just ruined his entire evening. He'd never want to sleep in the same bed as her now.

"Y-you do? You seriously do? You mean I'm not just a handy-man that helps out?" He asked, still stunned.

"You've never been just that, Ryoga. I care about you, I really do." she confessed quietly.

Ryoga got a little closer to her. He put a gentle finger on her chin to bring her head up so she could meet his gaze.

"I really like you too, Ukyo. If it's alright with you, I'd like to be your boyfriend." He said. Ukyo nodded and said "ok"

Getting a sudden burst of confidence, Ryoga reached forward and pulled Ukyo in for a kiss. It was a good kiss that left them breathless.

"I'm going to go change into the pajamas Akane left me." Ukyo said after they pulled apart. Ryoga nodded, still a little flustered. After she left, he began unbuttoning his shirt. He didn't want to lose too much clothes, so he decided to keep his pants on, just incase not having his pants on would give Ukyo the wrong idea. He really wanted to go slow and have a nice relationship with her. Hopefully nothing would come in the way of that in the future.

Ukyo came back holding her dress, and wearing the pajamas. She seemed a whole lot happier and less nervous than she did before.

They both got into one side of the small bed and tried figuring out how they should sleep. Eventually, Ukyo had snuggled up close to Ryoga. He wanted to hold her so bad, but decided against it until Ukyo took his arm and brought it around to her back.

"It's okay if you'd like to hold me. Nothing bad is going to happen if you do." She whispered. He brought his arms around her and held her so that she was lying against his chest. His heart was beating fast, but he didn't care if she heard it. He felt like he was drowning in pure bliss. She was so warm and smelled so good. Everything about this felt so right.

Ukyo's breathing evened out she fell asleep to the sound of Ryoga's heartbeat.

"I love you, Ukyo." Ryoga whispered.

"I love you too…" she said sleepily.

At that moment, Ryoga knew that he wanted this forever. He wanted to always be there, protecting her, loving her. He wanted her love, their love, forever.

Ranma hopped across rooftops with Akane in his arms. She felt safe and happy, her heart beating wildly as many thoughts raced through her head. They arrived at the little cottage that they had made love for the first time in. now they were married for real and still very much in love. If it was at all possible, they loved each other even more.

Ranma set Akane down and held her hand as they opened the door of the little cottage that was surrounded by plants and flowers. This gave it a little bit of cover and separated it from the city.

Ranma pulled Akane in front of him and looked at her, almost appraisingly.

"What are you doing, Ranma?" She asked.

"I'm looking at my beautiful wife, whom I love more than anything." He said.

"Is that so?" She asked with a little smirk. "Well, I'm looking at you, but there's something wrong." She said.

"There is?" He asked, a bit surprised.

"Yes. You're still wearing clothes." She said. His eye brows got lost in his bangs.

"Then come fix this little problem of mine, and I'll be sure to fix your as well." Ranma said in a seductive voice. He grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her into a passionate kiss, his hand reaching for the zipper of her dress. She reached up and started undoing the buttons of his shirt, then his belt and fly.

…………..(For full lemon see mediaminer!)………..

"I love you Akane Saotome, my beautiful wife. You're mine forever." He said. Akane sighed deeply, and snuggled closer to him.

"I love you Ranma, my wonderful, handsome husband. I am forever yours, no ifs ands or buts. She kissed him again before falling asleep in Ranma's soft, protective, loving arms. He fell asleep too, vowing to never let any harm come to the woman he loved with his entire being. It was a vow he had made a hundred, no, a thousand times before, but he'd make this vow a million times more because it was a part of who he was.

The morning came all too fast for the newly weds, who rose once again before dawn in an attempt to get home before the rest of the house was awake. They dressed in the other clothes they brought and hurried home.

They looked in Akane's window and saw Ryoga and Ukyo snuggled tightly together. Leaving them their privacy, Akane and Ranma quietly put down the clothes they had carried back home with them and decided to enter the house through the back door instead.

"They certainly look like newlyweds." Ranma said. Akane giggled, happy that Ryoga wasn't sleeping on the floor.

"I was worried he'd be sleeping on the floor." She said. Ranma gave a little "me too." And they shrugged at the situation.

"I wonder if Tofu spent the night." Ranma said.

"That's right!" Akane yelled, remembering their engagement. She forgot about it. "It looks like we may be going to a lot more weddings in the near future." Akane said.

"Maybe there's something in the water." Ranma smirked. Akane kissed her new husband with a little "I love you." He held her tightly, taking in her heavenly scent. She smelled like both of them combined. It was intoxicating. They stood there with their arms wrapped around each other and lost track of time. They finally came back to reality when a noise was heard from the staircase. Ryoga and Ukyo were holding hands, blushing a little, and stopped when they saw Ranma and Akane, who were looking at them, arms still wrapped around the other.

"Ah, there you guys are, we saw your clothes and wondered where you'd gone." Ryoga said. Ukyo looked happily tired, like she had a very happy dream and hadn't quite gotten back to reality.

"We didn't want to disturb you, so we dropped our things off and came in down here." Akane said.

"Oh, um, maybe we should get going so you two can sleep in your own bed." Ryoga said.

"Why don't you change your clothes and come back for breakfast? I'm sure it wouldn't be any trouble. Please come?" Akane asked.

Ukyo smiled and nodded "ok." They left through the front door, hands still locked tightly.

Breakfast was lovely. Everyone was happy. There were couples galore, Soun was still a little plastered, as well as Genma, and Nabiki was no where in sight. Kasumi whispered that she had left with some tall handsome young man and their father was too drunk and happy to notice. Apparently, he still was.

Soun in his drunken state, invited Nodoka to move in, and she had accepted his invitation. He most likely would have made that invitation even if he wasn't drunk, so she knew he meant it whole heartedly.

A few days later, Soun and Genma helped her move in officially. Ranma and Akane didn't miss any school after their wedding, and got congratulations from their friends and classmates. Ryoga went off to train again, but Ukyo wasn't sad, because he was somehow able to find her wherever she was, even with his horrible sense of direction.

By the end of summer, Kasumi and Tofu were happily married, and by Ranma and Akane's one year wedding anniversary, Kasumi gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl, named Bijin (beautiful woman).

Soun couldn't be happier and prouder of his daughters and knew that his late wife would be just as proud to see that they became such fine women.


End file.
